Kartoffelsalat
by Hanna-NotMontana
Summary: It's not easy saving the world when you're sharing the lab with a Kaiju groupie who constantly steals the contents of your mini-fridge. For example, your Kartoffelsalat. It's not easy saving the world when you're sharing the lab with a grumpy guy who wears your grandpa's clothes and does not look incredible. Much. A how-they-met saved-the-world realized-they-are-totally-in-love-fic
1. Algebros

_A bit of violence (there are Kaiju stomping around after all), bad language and two idiots being friends, and hateful, and best friends and lab partners and, in the end, a little bit more. Sexy time in the last chapter, BUT: they are not plot-relevant and clearly marked so you can skip them! Also, they're not too detailed anyway.  
_

* * *

_This story, much like the mini-fridge in the K-Science lab, contains no Kartoffelsalat (=(German) potato salad) whatsoever. That is not Newt's fault, though.  
Also, I took some liberties with the timeline – e.g. the Russians living in the Shatterdome even before Vladivostok Shatterdome is closed down etc. _

* * *

On principle, Hermann Gottlieb does not laugh about Dr. Geiszler's jokes, not even if they're funny. And especially not if they're about maths. Because, after all, there is nothing remotely funny about maths.

Sometimes, people assume it's because he's German by birth – you don't get much more serious than by being German. However, so is Newton Geiszler and if _he_ isn't the biggest joke in history, then Hermann doesn't know.

X

It all starts out so well in 2013, when they first begin to exchange emails – Hermann, an aspiring mathematician, working desperately on a way to make the Jaeger better, to understand the Breach and to save the world (mostly because you could do that all by yourself, with no one around, and also because it makes him feel a little more important, a little more awe-inspiring); and Newton Geiszler, who has earned his first PhD at the age of 15, one of the youngest, brightest of their generation, the German-American _Wunderkind_.

Kindred spirits, minds and souls.

The Gottliebs are an exceptional family through and through and being less than exceptional is simply not part of the family world view, so Hermann isn't. He is a borderline genius, smart enough to understand even complex structures and although he isn't a proper genius like Dr. Geiszler, success comes to him – and in the end, who cares about being a genius in the first place?

By 2015, five doctorates later – Hermann scoffs at the seeming enthusiasm with which Newton ("Call me Newt, Hermann!") collects them, much like a child would collect toy cars or collector cards – the Kaiju have become the fuel of all their - often joined - research.

The first Jaeger run on the programming code written by Hermann even before he joins the PPDC, so he readily accepts a position with them when they ask.

On March 28, 2015 he receives his ID badge, and Newton, who has been toying with the idea of joining, as well, starts attacking the matter seriously now. He just has to "quickly finish this thing about artificial tissue replication" (Hermann, at the time, is knee-deep into constructing models to predict the frequency of Kaijus attacks) and joins the PPDC a year later.

August 7, 2016 has come too fast, all the while not fast enough for Hermann. It's the day Dr. Newton Geiszler will join the K-Science department. However, it takes another year until they finally agree to meet in person, partly because they're both incredibly busy, and partly because Hermann dislikes being around people and has to debate with himself for a small eternity the pros and cons of meeting his esteemed colleague. But when he finally has convinced himself, Hermann sees no reason against this being the start of a wonderful cooperation, aside from an unhealthy amount of Newton's usage of the word 'dude'.

X

He sees 26 points _against_ this being a wonderful cooperation five minutes into the first eye-to-eye meeting with Dr. Geiszler. Which is why they part ways almost immediately again.

Hermann Gottlieb is not a people person, but not even a people person would be apt at dealing with the messy whirlwind that is Newton Geiszler and his genius mind. Newton, too, seems taken aback with the way Hermann _is_, but Hermann has learnt to deal with this reaction from an early age on and, while feeling a pang of regret in losing an interesting conversational partner like Newton, moves on, cutting off all email contact.

He gets married while all around him, the world falls to pieces under the attacks of Reckoner, Yamarashi, Clawhook and the likes. (The email he receives from Newton on his wedding day reads "RE: SHE'S HOT DUDE. CONGRATS" and Hermann deletes it without reading it. He pointedly does not smile.)

Vanessa is in many ways a perfect match and the marriage surprises a lot of people. Hermann meets her on a short trip to Germany, in Berlin – and only having known each other for two weeks by that point, they make everything official. It's not love, for neither of them. Deep respect – for Vanessa's determination, for her alter-ego under which she publishes papers on bio chemistry, for Hermann's talent with numbers. They are some sort of power couple (although no-one in the high society is sure whether Vanessa is some sort of trophy wife for the gangly, grumpy mathematician with the old-man sweaters and why on Earth a beautiful woman like Vanessa would agree to that _or_ if Hermann is a trophy husband for the dumb model, so that she can appear smarter.)

No-one knows about how much they care about each other and the most amazing part for Hermann is that he gets left alone now while still being married. In his four years with the PPDC, he sees his wife three times. It's pleasant, they are both content. And Hermann tries (and fails) to forget about the only form of human contact he had genuinely enjoyed, albeit it being only via email communication.

Then 2020 dawns, and, with the new decade, relocation to China. The Hong Kong Shatterdome is about to become home to Dr. Hermann Gottlieb and his desperate attempt to save the world by scribbling numbers on dusty blackboards.

X

**2020**

Newt looks up to see Tendo Choi greet Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (his Hermann from the emails, Hermann the math genius) in a way that could be described as almost friendly. Taken aback, yet with the same interest a wildlife ranger would show to a rare species interacting with another species, he observes what's going on.

Of course he knows Hermann considers himself British-by-choice and that Tendo had been stationed on the British-controlled Pitcairn Islands, supervising and developing the tools to monitor the Pacific Ocean, but the two of them look like they're... friends, not just colleagues.

Aha. So Hermann _can_ be social. Just not to him. Newt pouts.

He doesn't remain in a bad mood for too long, though, because he notices the young woman – actually more a girl than a woman – behind Tendo and grins at her when she meets his eyes. She looks down again and her black hair falls into her face. This is when Newt notices the blue streaks in it and gives her an enthusiastic thumbs-up when she dares to look up the next time. This time, she doesn't look down again, although she's not exactly focusing on Newt. She is, in fact, focusing on the small end-cutting pliers he's holding in one hand. With a look back to Tendo and Hermann, she walks over carefully, does a small bow and says: "I'm Mako Mori."

Newt feels compelled to bow, too, but isn't sure about it in case it's a cultural thing, so he sticks out the hand without the pair of pliers and says: "I'm Newt."

She doesn't take the offered hand, but gives him small smile and nods towards the pile of electronic scrap cluttering his workdesk. "What are you building?"

"Uh, my iPod broke. I'm fixing it."

"With a pair of end-cutting pliers?" she looks sceptical.

"I need some spare-parts and I found this communication thingy lying around," he explains himself.

She eyes is warily, scuffling through the pieces. "If you put that in, you'll be able to listen in on the Jaeger-LOCCENT communication."

He grins excitedly and grabs a few of the pieces she's referring to. "I know! Awesome, huh?"

For a moment, her face is completely expressionless and Newt wonders if he's said one of these things that make people scared of slash irritated by him, but then she rolls up her sleeves and points to another small circuit board. "Use that one, too. It helps with the quality of the transmission."

X

Mako, as well as Tendo, come visit the Hong Kong Shatterdome regularly over the years and although Newt is a bit annoyed that Mako gets on well with Hermann too, since they both share a love for concentrated (and deadly boring QUIET) work as well as a deep determination to not stop before having found the perfect solution for a problem – as opposed to Newt's method of 'there's a fifty percent chance of this working out and that's good enough for me because Fortune Favours The Brave, Dude' – they sometimes sit together during these visits and tinker around.

Both scientists are fond of the polite Asian girl with the determination to prove herself to the man who saved her life and the world in general, a sentiment Newt understands well. Hermann does, too, although he never voices it like that. Dres. Geiszler and Gottlieb live under the illusion of each being the 'cool uncle' and Mako lets them.

X

Another constant point of dispute besides Mako's affections is the shared-lab-situation.

Because they are the leading experts on everything Kaiju- or Breach-related, they 'get away' with being stuffed into a lab together, all by themselves. The official reports don't mention the complaints the eleven other scientists of the K-Science division have filed within a day of working in one confined space with Gottlieb and Geiszler, and everyone assumes they get their own lab because they are more important than the rest.

People stop assuming that after having spent any period of time within the vicinity of the Germans' lab.

And while that situation is a relief for every single one of the other scientist in the Shatterdome, it appears like a punishment to both Newt and Hermann for the longest time.

When Hermann and Newt don't fight over facts vs. vague assumptions, they fight about Hermann's lack of social skills, Newt's taste in music, Hermann's compulsive need for order, Newt's mess, Hermann's fight for silence, Newt's blasting music.

Surprisingly, Newt is backed up in the last point of discussion by the Russians. Since they are either deaf or indifferent – Newt suspects the latter – they are the ones with their quarters closest to the lab and therefore the ones closest to the arguments. However, their love for Ukrainian hard house unites them with Newt's love for Heavy Metal and during an especially heated argument, they suddenly appear behind the short scientist like ancient Egyptian statues, faces unmoving, arms crossed in front of their chests.

"Loud music helps with thinking," they state quietly while both Hermann and Newt freeze mid-argument.

Newt wants to say 'ha!' but is in the sort of panicky stiffness kittens display when being picked up by their loving, yet slightly bite-y mothers. Hermann grips his cane tighter and his mouth forms a line so thin you can barely see it anymore, but bites back any comment, too.

With one last unidentifiable look at the two men about three heads shorter than Aleksis, the Russians turn and leave. The music stays on.

At least until dinner time in the Mess Hall, where the Wei triplets stop by the scientists' table and regard Newt with a hard stare. "Silence improves the mind," says the first. "You don't need noise," adds the second. And the third adds: "Silence is a gift." While they make their point, they don't stop tossing three small tennis balls between them whilst juggling their food trays.

Much like Newt before, Hermann doesn't dare to speak up (but does give Newt a nasty look). The Russians watch intently, as do the Wei triplets.

For the sake of peace and harmony in the Shatterdome, Newt starts listening to his music with his headphones on, which has the advantage of giving Hermann his much needed quietness and the disadvantage of less time to banter, mostly because Newt can't hear Hermann.

Sometimes Hermann wishes he couldn't hear Newt either, because he usually sings along to the music – which wasn't so bad when it was blasting through the lab, because then you couldn't actually hear him. Now, you can.

Hermann gets ear plugs, but they don't help much.

X

They have been working together for four weeks – and working together means sharing a lab space and trying to ignore Newton as well as possible for Hermann – when Hermann, reluctantly, admits to himself that whilst he is still repulsed by everything that is Newton Geiszler in person, he can't help but see the man he's had wonderfully stimulating conversations with for years via email under all the covers of awful.

When Newton isn't splashing around with Kaiju intestines or being his hyperactive self, he's showing his genius. Hermann, in the safe secludedness of his accommodation, reads his lab partners' reports, papers and computer log entries with a mixture of admiration and disbelief. Admiration for the brilliance, disbelief because these words are coming from Newton's – the man Hermann has come to associate with _pain-in-the-arse_ – mouth or hand respectively.

The problem with Newton is that whenever Hermann grudgingly decides to maybe try and give him another chance of a first impression, he goes and does something utterly disturbing or says something that makes Hermann want to bang his head – his or Newton's, Hermann's not sure yet - on his blackboard repeatedly.

Such as today. To be honest, Hermann was already dreading when Newton would ask about the cane – not that he has a problem with talking about it, it's just that he rather wouldn't. And not to Newton, of all people. But the _if _was never the question, it was the _when_ – so when the _when_ arrives, Hermann is not too surprised.

"Hey Hermann, what's the thing with the cane anyway?" Newton asks around a mouth full of ham-and-cheese sandwich during a reluctant break in their work. Hermann doesn't like eating in front of people, which Newton has figured out pretty quickly, but instead of going to the Mess Hall by himself or with the other scientists, he seems to have made it his personal agenda to keep Hermann company and eat with him. (Newton apparently thinks just him is better than a group of people when, in reality, he is being loud and obnoxious enough to be a hundred people easily. Still, Hermann _has_ to eat at some point, so he, reluctantly, does it in Newton's company.)

"I use it to walk," Hermann replies drily, causing Newton to roll his eyes.

"Really? I hadn't even noticed." Then a sort of realization dawns on the genius and he gets an expression on his face that says he regrets... not exactly having asked in the first place, but the fact that he probably won't get an _answer _because it's personal.

Hermann decides to give in, then, if only to avoid being sprayed with more angrily chewed sandwich while Newton tries to come up with a way of convincing him to 'spill the beans' anyway.

"I was stationed in Los Angeles and supposed to be deployed to Anchorage on the 30th October 2017. Then the creature you have decided to depict on your left arm attacked and destroyed parts of the city during the fight with Gypsy Danger," Hermann explains and hopes that Newton feels at least a bit uncomfortable. Of course he doesn't.

"You saw Yamarashi? That is SO COOL." Newton looks as if he's about to pee himself from excitement like a yapping little puppy.

" A piece of metal hit the car I was in, killed the driver and buried the rest of us beneath it, while we tried to evacuate down Harbor Freeway." Now, finally, the ice in Hermann's voice manages to wipe the amazement of Newton's face. "It was very much not 'so cool', I dare say."

Why does he even bother? Newton will remain the insensitive, annoying, irresponsible man-child he is. Angry with himself for, once again, giving in to his eternal nuisance, Hermann grabs his cane and maybe over-does it a bit when limping away, but he's proving a point.

X

Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Okay, strike that, he definitely shouldn't have said that. Hermann hasn't talked to him since lunch, not even to complain when Newt accidentally plugged out his headphones and 23 seconds of Deep Purple's _Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming _blasted through the lab before Newt could plug them back in.

But- Yamarashi! Newt remembers following the live feed of the Kaiju's attack on Los Angeles in wonder at the creature's enormous size. Even when Gypsy Danger finally managed to intercept him and take him down, Newt could have watched the runs on repeat for hours. (He generally could do that with every single Kaiju attack but Yamarashi is one of the most memorable for him.)

Nevertheless, Newt hates that Hermann hates him (even more than usual). Just when they started to become friends. Sort of. At least people-who-are-ready-to-kill-each-other-daily-but-in-a-nice-sort-of-way. Looking around, he realizes that it's later than he thought it was and Hermann's gone.

Newt makes sure that all of the awesome Kaiju parts are on his side of the Line of Demarcation, drawn out in a makeshift manner, yet parting the lab perfectly in half, courtesy of a certain maths smartarse, using duct tape. Then he grabs his things and heads out for the accommodations, dropping a couple of folders, his iPod, two books and stacks of paper in front of his own door before knocking on Hermann's across the hall.

Hermann is not childish enough to shout through the door (although Newt is sure he's looked through the spyhole and was tempted to do so upon seeing him) but only opens it wide enough to glare through. "What do you want?"

"To say that I'm sorry?" Newt makes it sound like a question which only helps in annoying Hermann more.

"And you're hoping to accomplish that by making it sound like a question?" He's about to close the door again, and Newt valiantly moves his foot forward in an attempt to block it. Turns out, metal doors hurt like a bitch.

He howls in pain, causing several by-passers to give them curious glances. "_Scheiße_! Ow, Hermann – was that really necessary?"

Hermann quirks an eyebrow, but ultimately sighs and opens the door wider. "It's not my fault." After a moment, he adds: "Are you alright?"

"Ow. No." Newt mumbles and sits down on the small steps in front of the door carefully, rubbing his foot. For a moment, he's almost sure Hermann is going to shut the door and leave him pouting there, but then he startles when two legs clad in dark green corduroys stretch into his peripheral view. Hermann is slowly lowering himself down next to him, muttering "_Unglaublich... albern..."_ under his breath.

"Are you talking about you or me?" Newt asks, already grinning again.

Hermann's answer is as predictable as amusing. "You, of course." After a moment, he adds: "You were questioning the fact that you were sorry."

Newt rolls his eyes, but tells him: "Yeah. I mean, I'm not really sorry for being fascinated by Yamarashi. Or for my tattoos. If that was what you were angry about. That's part of me, man. I just... didn't know you were injured during the attack. So I'm sorry for that."

Next to him, Hermann tenses up even more than usual – and that's saying something, given that he's probably carrying around a whole assortment of sticks of various lengths up his arse. "I don't need your pity."

"I'm not pitying you! I mean... I sort of am, you know- no, wait, don't give me that 'go to hell' look - because it sucks that you were smashed. But, you're the one responsible for the eventual downfall of the Kaiju, so you're sort of getting them back double and triple."

Now Hermann looks at him with a mix of disbelief and bewilderment but for once doesn't say he's being ridiculous. Newt calls it progress and they talk for another half hour with almost no fighting involved. People who walk by give them confused looks, but neither of them cares.

X

The first time Newt meets Hermann in the shower, it is by accident. Unlike the buff mechanics or the tough Jaeger pilots, the bonding-act of everyone heading to the showers together after a long day of physical labour or a Kwoon session doesn't apply to the K-Science division. Not in the beginning, when there are plenty of scientists, and not after only Hermann and Newt are left.

So, yes, when Newt steps into the big, tiled common shower room, he's surprised to find Hermann there, just in the process of turning the water on. Newt starts shedding clothes when his partner doesn't greet back – no wonder, he probably didn't even hear him over the sound of pipes springing alive with coughs and splutters (or he's being angry again, something to do with a LITTLE bit of Kaiju blue on his side of the Line maybe) – and only Newt's undignified yelp when he, too, steps under a spray of water, which rains down on him icily, alarms Hermann of his presence.

Now, talking in the shower is one of those awkward things people don't do – which is exactly why Newt doesn't let that stop himself from animatedly starting to chatter away while Hermann is being monosyllabic.

He remains that way all the way through Newts _Verdammt_-that-water-is-cold dance, the _Verdammt_ -now-it's-scolding-hot-dance and the generous amount of shampoo Newt uses because _hello_, a foam Mohawk does _not_ form itself. That is, until Newt asks (around a mouth full of foam): "Why don't you call me Newt, by the way?"

Hermann is in the process of getting redressed and finishes putting on his undershirt before answering primly: "It's only professional to refer to you by the titles you rightfully achieved, Dr. Geiszler."

"Yeah, but-pfff" Newt has to get rid of another mouthful of foam and realizes it's probably time to finish up his shower, "-we'll be working together for like forever! Might as well call me Newt."

"I'd prefer not to," Hermann answers.

"Do you have a thing with nicknames?" Newt asks back, trying not to sound too much like a walrus, snorting noses full of water out whilst trying to shower and talk at the same time.

"There is no point in them."

"Aww, I bet it's just because you don't have one yet," Newt immediately argues back, his mind already digging into its newfound task (next to saving the world, becoming a rockstar and having a re-union of Black Velvet Rabbit, his band from teenage days). "I'll find one you'll like."

"Please don't." Hermann all but pleads and Newt isn't sure how much of the long-suffering look he's imagining, what with foam in his eyes and his glasses resting on the sink meters away. He's basically blind. That doesn't stop him from thinking.

"What about... Herms?"

The heated look in Hermann's eyes could easily fire up the energy blaster of one of the old Mark-Is. "Absolutely not."

X

Over the course of the next years, Newt comes up with a lot of nicknames which he offers to Hermann in the showers (to which they now go together, mostly because Newt simply follows Hermann when he goes and Hermann can't exactly shower somewhere else or outrun Newt with his cane)

(Also, no-one talks about that time when Hermann refused to go to the shower in the evening of the day Newt had managed to soak himself thoroughly in something he argued was _not_ pus, in order to make Newt go alone out of necessity. Newt, however, had been stubborn and they ended up threatened to be kicked out of the Shatterdome by an angry mob of people complaining about Newt's smell. They were soon threatening Hermann's life because they figured out pretty quickly that Newt was only waiting for Hermann, who was refusing to go to the showers with him. And thus ended the sad attempt of getting rid of Newt joining him in the showers).

Hermann always hates the nicknames passionately and Newt tries to come up with the most ridiculous ones he can think of.

Such as...

"Hermie?"

"No."

X

Valentine's Day at the Shatterdome is a weird day, mostly because everyone who has a partner somewhere in the world is trying really hard to pretend not to miss their significant others and not to care about Valentine's Day anyway because they have a world to save.

Almost all of them fail, and there are different degrees to failure – those who get together with friends, those who find pity sex partners and those who get really thoroughly smashed that night.

Newton does not belong in any of those categories – not that Hermann cares – although several of his attempts at flirting his way through the Shatterdome have failed spectacularly, so it's not because he's not trying hard enough. The Jaeger pilots drop out for obvious reasons, Newt's knowledge of languages is restricted to German, English and a few bits of Cantonese and therefore not enough to communicate much with members of the crew who don't – or pretend to not – speak either of it. Not even Newt's obvious indifference in whom he approaches, be it woman or man (or Kaiju, how Hermann mocks in his mind) helps him score a date.

Hermann doesn't care about Valentine's Day and remains unbothered by its significance; the only thing bothering him is the emotional turmoil around him. He doesn't leave his chalkboard all day and has just decided to make it an all-nighter, just to avoid the people in the hallway in a more or less sober or more or less clothed state, when he sees a small piece of paper tucked against a sponge and a box of chalk.

Glancing around and not seeing Newton or anyone else in the lab, he makes his way over and picks it up. Unfolding it, he recognizes the writing as his partner's scrawl.

_Happy Valentine's Day, Herms._

_Be my algebro and come grab a drink._

_- Newt_

And Hermann, who has the principle of not laughing about maths jokes, finds himself quirking a corner of his mouth upwards.

Later, he stands next to Newton on a small balcony overlooking the nightly Hong Kong Bay, with the city shining bright in a pink-ish hue. Newt blabbers about potential romantic love life of the Kaiju, Hermann glares from time to time and it seems like even during a war of humanity versus monsters, love finds a way to be celebrated.

X

"Hermster?"

Hermann almost starts spluttering water. "Good Lord, Dr. Geiszler! NO."


	2. Comfort Food

_I lied. There is Kartoffelsalat. Also Strudel, Dr. Gottlieb Sr. and more ridiculous nicknames._  
_[Translations for the German bits in the notes at the end.]_

* * *

"You, my friend, are wrong!" Newt crosses his arms and smirks. Hermann, however looks unimpressed. Annoyed is a more apt description.

He clicks his tongue and then puts on the condescending look Newt has come to recognize as his 'teacher-face'. "In two easy steps, Doctor Geiszler, so that even you may follow it: First, I am not your friend. Second, I am not wrong."

Okay, the not-your-friend part stings a bit, but it's nothing Newt has not _not_ expected. "You are wrong, and, as much as a punishment this is for me, too, my friend," he argues back and basks in the knowledge that he is _right_. Days don't get much better when he can prove Hermann wrong.

Hermann, quite obviously, doesn't see it that way and instead begins to list all the reasons for the theory not to work in alphabetical order. When he's finished he gives Newt the look that is supposed to urge the biologist to admit he's wrong. Which he isn't. So he tells Hermann.

"You know that I'm a hundred percent right and you're only being a spoilsport because raining on my parade makes your miserable day."

"My day would be considerable less miserable if I could spend it without the presence of you or parts of Kaiju that were never supposed to see the light of day," Hermann fights back heatedly and a small part of Newt's mind notices how the hallways around the open door of the K-Science lab empty suddenly. The residents of the Shatterdome are aware of what's going to happen next.

And indeed, fifteen minutes later, they're yelling at each other from the top of their lungs.

"-you have the social skills of a- a- a social virgin which is why you don't appreciate when a friend tells you you are wrong in a totally friendly, helpful manner!" Newt yells, knowing that that was sort of lame and that Hermann will jump to his incredibly uncool insult immediately.

The scientist doesn't disappoint. "There is nothing to appreciate because I am not wrong and I don't see why you operate under the impression of being friends with me! If you keep acting like a toddler with the insults of a pre-schooler, then I have to seriously question the sanity of the people handing out your doctorates. By their judgment, I would be smart enough to rule the world by now, mostly because my theory is _not wrong and yours is_!"

"Ooh, ruler of the world, that's grand!" Newt scoffs. "You can be the vice president of VIRGINIA! IT'S PROBABLY NAMED AFTER ALL THE VIRGINS THERE! SOCIAL AND OTHERWISE!" It's a low blow, Newt knows that, but Hermann is concentrating – irritatingly – on a completely different part of his outburst.

"Virginia is named after Elizabeth I., the QUEEN!"

"WELL THEN YOU FIT RIGHT IN DON'T YOU!"

"YOU ARE BEING RIDICULOUS!"

"SAYS THE QUEEN OF VIRGINIA!"

"Alright, Your Royal Highnesses, that is enough," the controlled voice of Stacker Pentecost interrupts and both their heads whip around, Newt's red from yelling and Hermann's red from anger mixed with just a little bit of embarrassment.

X

After a bit of – very calm, very adult – explaining, they are both given orders to confirm their theories in the field. And it turns out neither of them works.

"Maybe if you change that variable for X and solve that equation for Y, you might get better results," Newt says carefully when they both sit at a table standing on the Line of Demarcation, a joined area for them, a neutral zone. The biologist is looking at the enormous blackboard tiredly, his shirt still fuming from a couple of holes (apparently some parts of Kaiju are fire-repellent – unfortunately, his dress shirt isn't).

They both know Newt is no maths genius, but Hermann is too defeated to make a comment on it and simply eyes his scribbles for a while, too, before nodding slowly. "Maybe." Then, he sniffs into the general direction of crispy-burnt Newt. "I can stand by with a fire-extinguisher next time." It's meant to sound offhandedly and a little bit scolding, but doesn't quite come out that way.

Newt throws him a lopsided grin and, after a short while in silence, asks: "Showers?"

Hermann, silent but for the 'clank' of his cane, leads the way.

X

"Hermunster?"

Hermann throws a piece of soap.

X

**2021**

Mako joins the Jaeger Academy. Both Newton and Hermann don't worry about her being able to give her very best – she always does – and are happy for her when she tells them about qualifying in the first round of tests for becoming a pilot. (Not that either of them shows it much in the presence of the other – they're so much better at yelling at each other or fighting with each other than celebrating with each other.)

"Did you go in for the pilot tests when you joined?" Newton asks later while they're having lunch.

Hermann gives him a pointed look. "Why would I? I helped developing the Jaegers, why on Earth would I want to control one on top of that?" And besides, controlling one would mean Drifting with someone which would mean spending time with them and dealing with memories and feelings and all the things unimportant to him, so why on earth would he want to do it?

"Dude, because you actually could? I mean, I wanted to, but they wouldn't let me because of the glasses! But Drifting... must be so cool. I wonder- I think, someday we could look into Drifting with other things. Or make it something everyone could do, you know?" Newton, already forgetting about

his question, gets the dreamy, far-away look that Hermann dreads. It usually means noise and a lot of swearing while his lab partner is trying out something completely ridiculous.

"Why would Drifting be useful if not to control a Jaeger?"

"For all kinds of things!" All kinds that Newton, conveniently, does not go into detail about. "I have to look into that..."

X

The mini-fridge is such an obvious acquisition neither of the geniuses thinks of making it until they're well into their second year of sharing lab space. Seeing as Hermann usually doesn't go to the Mess Halls and Newt is keeping him company, they have been eating together in the lab for almost the same span of time. And up until now, they have either had sandwiches or smuggled out trays of food from the Mess Hall which is technically not allowed. The only reason the personnel there have not yet murdered them in their sleep for taking their trays with them every single time is that Hermann, always a stickler to rules, takes them back in the evenings, usually cleaned up properly.

It's conflicting for him as it is, the going-against-the-rules with the trays. But Newt suspects that his dislike for crowds outweighs his opposition to breaking rules too much for him to consider eating at the Mess Hall.

However, the tray sneaking mostly ends the day the mini-fridge finds its way into the K-Science lab of Gottlieb and Geiszler. After a small argument, it ends up on Hermann's side of the lab "for sanitary reasons and strictly out of reach from anything remotely related to alien life forms, Dr. Geiszler!"

Newt suppresses the urge to stick out his tongue because that's childish and he has six doctorates. (However, as soon as Hermann turns his back, he gives in to the urge because what the hell!)

Over the next couple of days, the fridge slowly fills itself. Or, well, not magically _itself_. Hermann has to be the one doing it. Newt at first watches the progress silently and only checks in on the contents when Hermann is otherwise engaged and spares him no mind. Using a mixture of knowledge on how to pack things efficiently and a certain talent for Tetris, the first things to come are plastic bags with vegetables like baby carrots and celery (who the hell eats celery anyway?), followed by ham, cheese and other sandwich ingredients. And then, irritatingly, _Kartoffelsalat_.

A small container of it, complete with a lid and a tag reading _H. Gottlieb_.

Now, Newt is pretty sure he's not had _Kartoffelsalat_ in a small eternity. The food at the Hong Kong Shatterdome is okay and a lot more versatile than in other places on this planet, what with the benefits of living at a harbour and the mutli-cultural group of people living and working here. But, all in all, the food is usually some chunk of meat with noodles or rice. Not much variation there. Sometimes potatoes, yes. A lot of things deep-fried, yes. But never German potato salad.

Newt decides to investigate. (Because asking Hermann is as boring as it is going to be potentially useless because of a condescending answer.)

X

Hermann doesn't notice Newton is shadowing him for a couple of days. To be fair, though, it's because Newton is usually in his vicinity anyway most of the time so it doesn't really strike him as unusual. Only when the shorter man tries to be inconspicuous, Hermann realizes something might be off.

At half past 12 one night, he leaves the lab, slowly making his way through the thankfully empty halls of the Shatterdome and towards the Mess Hall. Of course there are always people awake, but there is a difference between the buzzing corridors during day and the only occasional encounter at night. Hermann passes the Mess Hall and instead opens the small door next to it leading to the kitchens behind the counters.

The sound of his cane on metal ground hides the fact that the door to the kitchen needs slightly longer to click shut than it usually would – because another body is squeezing through and keeps it open for a moment longer. And no, Hermann wouldn't have noticed if the other person wouldn't have tried _to do a dive roll _behind some counters and ends up crashing right into them.

Hermann sighs deeply before he turns and shines a small light in the corner where the sound came from. "Really, Dr. Geiszler?"

"It's Newt," groans the person-pile on the ground while rubbing the back of his head, wincing when he touches a particularly tender area.

Time to settle this, once and for all."Fine."

Newton looks up so fast he almost hits his head again. "Wait, what? Really?"

"If I call you Newton, will you stop your ridiculous attempts at shadowing me wherever I go?"

"Awesome," the biologist replies and Hermann has the suspicion that the man on the floor turns selective perception on and off just how it suits him. Did he even listen to the condition Hermann set? However, before Hermann can come back to that, Newton is already on his feet and giving him a questioning look. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _yo_u doing here?" Hermann echoes, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm here for the mystery of the _Kartoffelsalat_. How on Earth do you get it?"

Hermann is so surprised that his mouth falls open for a couple of seconds. Then he gets a hang of himself again and replies, incredulously: "All that effort for salad?"

"It's delicious, man! _Oh._" Newton clamps his mouth shut, realizing he has just uncovered himself – and Hermann finds his suspicion confirmed: he had the feeling there was some of the salad missing.

"What does a man have to do for you to respect his property?" Hermann hisses, more annoyed at Newton's general disregard for his things than about a few grams of missing salad. "One day I'm going to poison my food and wait for you to eat it!"

Newton, to Hermann's massive irritation, grins. "And when you're totally wrapped up in one of your math problems, you would forget about it, eat it yourself and die."

"At least I would be in a more peaceful place."

"Nah, you'd be bored. I bet you'd come back to haunt me," Newton argues back, but before Hermann can reply, the other man cocks his head. "So, where do you get _Kartoffelsalat_ from?"

"I make it."

This time, Newton gapes at him. And for so long that Hermann feels compelled to add something to his first statement. "I do know how to feed myself."

"You can... cook." Newton still looks disbelieving.

"It's not magic. Potatoes, boiling water, time and a few ingredients. It's math, basically." And besides, Hermann never said he could cook a lot of things. That's something Newton doesn't have to know, though.

"That's awesome! Are you going to make some now? I haven't eaten much today, you know. Wow, this feels like breaking into school at night and sneaking to the cafeteria to feast on pudding." Newton's eyes are as big as saucers and Hermann just shakes his head, defeated. Then, he turns around and says into the darkness: "If I can't get rid of you, you might as well help. Get water boiling."

When he looks back, Newton is doing a mock salute at him, grinning broadly. "Yes, Dr. Gottlieb."

X

"_Heiß!"_ Newt hisses and drops the potato he was just about to peel back on the table.

"Seriously, what did you get your doctorates for?" Hermann inquires drily while he's cutting up onions. He's not even crying because he put them in the freezer before. Newt had no idea that actually works, but then again, he's a Kaiju specialist, not an Allium expert.

"My good looks, probably," he whispers in a conspiratorial manner and adds in an afterthought: "And because I'm a genius, I guess."

Hermann quirks an eyebrow. "You must've had blind professors."

"Which means you admit I'm a genius." Newt grins. "And hey, you're the one married to a model. You surround yourself with pretty people – the odds are totally in my favour, dude."

For a moment, Newt's not sure if bringing Hermann's wife – about whom he forgets most of the time because Hermann never talks about her and doesn't even have a photo of her (at least none that Newt has seen) – into this, but he figures that he didn't say anything bad and Hermann doesn't look more grumpy than usual.

"Vanessa has an amiable character, too, though," Hermann simply states, not even looking up from the dressing he's currently mixing.

"I'm wounded!" Newt clutches his heart and rolls his eyes dramatically. It doesn't exactly draw a grin from Hermann, but his eyes are not as hard as they usually are when Newt is being ridiculous and goofing around.

They continue silently for a while, until Newt finally gathers up the courage to ask. "So. How is Vanessa?"

Hermann eyes him warily. "Why do you ask?"

"You never talk about her. I'm curious."

For a moment, his lab partner hesitates, then he says: "I'd rather not talk about my private life."

Usually, Newt would immediately dig into that statement, work on Hermann until they're both yelling or one of them is giving in. But he's done with the potatoes, and it's the middle of the night and all he can focus on is the bowl of salad. He'll look into the Vanessa-thing later.

Hermann, however, seems to sense Newt's too-easy acceptance of his answer and quickly puts a lid on the bowl, just when Newt has located a fork and tries to sneak a first mouthful.

"That needs to stand for a while," Hermann declares and because there is simply no arguing when it comes to _Kartoffelsalat_, as much as Newt would like to, they let it stand and start talking about Hidoi's attack on Bangkok a couple of months ago. (Hermann is sure that there will be at least one more attack, given the pattern so far – and he will be proven right when Ceramander attacks in October – and Newt agrees, still delighted about the fact that Crimson Typhoon was covered in so much dead Kaiju that he will have enough tissue and fluids to analyze for the next months.) How the K-Watch crew could literally name that Kaiju 'ugly' is beyond Newt's understanding, though.

And when the _Kartoffelsalat_ is finally clear to be eaten, much later, both men are tired beyond belief and yet it's the best thing they have eaten in a long, long time. Winning a war with an extra-terrestrial race of monsters doesn't seem too impossible now, when you can feel at home in an underground military base in China with a friend who drives you up the wall on a daily basis.

X

**October 2021**

"_Nein... warum sollte ich? _Oh fine." Hermann paces in his room, phone gripped so tightly his knuckles turn white. "There is no point in trying, father. The Wall will not work. They are getting bigger, every single one of them. We need the money here, with the Jaeger program. It's no use hiding-"

Dr. Lars Gottlieb, as ever, won't have his son finish a thought he dislikes and argues back just as heatedly.

"You were one of the founders of the Jaeger program – setbacks happen in every program. The Wall is just another idea that will have its own setbacks," Hermann keeps trying, aware that his voice is rising above normal conversational levels and has done so continually from the very beginning of this call.

_But defence is the better option by now, Hermann. They will stop once they realize they're not getting anywhere. It's the Wall now. The Wall is all that counts._

"When in history have walls done any good? The Germans have their fair share of experience with walls. _Eine Mauer wird nicht helfen_!"

_English, Hermann. We're all in this boat together, we need to communicate properly._

"I believe in the Jaeger Program. The Jaegers protect us, they actually do something. My calculations help. My program codes help. Dr. Geiszler's work-"

_Geiszler. Hermann, he's mad. His papers show traces of intelligence, yes, but he's completely out of his mind. Gone mad, inhaled too much Kaiju Blue perhaps. You can't take him seriously-_

Hermann interrupts his father, for the first time in his life. The ice in his voice is enough to make the room temperature drop several degrees.

"Dr. Geiszler is an esteemed colleague and the foremost expert in K-Science. His findings provide the Jaegers with better weaponry and abilities to effectively fight the Kaiju."

_You are as mad as he is. Madmen, the lot of you. Power lies in defence. _Hermann, du bist eine Schande für die Familie Gottlieb. _People talk about you. And not in a good way._

"Let them talk._ Numbers_ don't lie. I will be the one stopping the Kaiju, together with Dr. Geiszler, Marshal Pentecost and the rest of the Jaeger program."

And with that, Hermann hangs up and tosses the phone on his bed, still keeping up his pacing, like a caged animal, up, down his small room, his cane momentarily resting against the wall. He's too angry to be in pain.

He's never dealt with his own emotions much. Disconnected himself from them, ignored them – mostly, they went away – but no one manages to shake him to the core like his own father does. Not even Newton – with Newton, it's reliable, even comforting, because as much as they yell at each other, it usually ends up with either of them having a new idea, or a breakthrough. They bounce ideas off each other, make each other work harder.

With Dr. Gottlieb – Hermann rarely manages to think of him as 'father' anymore – it's simply infuriating, trying to make a valid point against the ignorance and fear of an old man seeing his first plan failing.

When the cabin fever threatens to take over, he grabs his cane and throws open the door, intend on staring at his numbers until they either blur in front of his eyes or tell him something new. Instead, he runs straight into Newton, who is standing down the small steps of his room, staring at his now-open door.

"And I thought Chuck Hansen has daddy issues," the shorter scientist states after they have a sort of irritated stare-off for a moment. (Hermann knows he's hacked into the personnel files of the Jaeger pilots, mostly out of interest and also a bit simply because he could.)

"How much did you hear?" Hermann asks, venom in his voice. If Newt says one more thing, he's not sure if he can be persuaded to not murder him.

"Uh, just the loudest part. About you wanting to save the world with me and Pentecost," Newt admits but quickly adds: "And just for the record: Your dad's a dick. You? Not so much. I mean, he did start the Jaeger Program but now he's all scared and-" Newt's rambling now and before he dies because he forgets to breath between sentences, Hermann interrupts him.

"Forget this. All of it. I don't want to talk about my father, or anything you heard." He waits until he sees Newton nodding and then asks: "How do you feel about fractions with four sets of invariants?"

Newton makes the same face other people make when smelling Kaiju excrements. "I don't think I feel anything about them."

"Very well. You can get accustomed to them then. Follow me. I have a theory."

"Of course you have," Newton mumbles, but obediently falls into step next to him. A few meters down the corridor, he is already back at first topic. "So, how did your dad come to the conclusion that a wall might help fighting of tons and tons of cool monsters?"

Hermann glares at him.

X

What Hermann doesn't know is that Newt has heard a bit more than just the last part of the fight with his father. In fact, he's been there ever since the Berlin-Wall-reference. And for the part where Hermann – Hermann Gottlieb, Mr. Grumpy-Pants – has praised him and his work.

Newt has always known that Hermann has a motive for working in the Shatterdome, for dedicating all his energy and half his life to the research on the Kaiju and the Breach, but this is the first time he's actually heard him voice it.

Hermann wants to save the world with him. And that's pretty damn cool.

X

**2022**

Having finished Jaeger Academy on top of her class, Mako remains in Anchorage, only dropping by in Hong Kong for a short visit. Marshal Pentecost and Tendo Choi accompany her and while Pentecost only drops by the K-Science lab for a short period of time, Mako and Tendo stay for a bit longer, chatting with an animated Newt and a reluctant Hermann.

Newt was right in his assessment that Tendo and Hermann are friends and have known each other for quite a while but that doesn't mean Hermann is more sociable than usual. Which is what he needs to be, in Newt's opinion.

Spinejackal's attack on Melbourne has been two days ago, so when Tendo admits having access to exclusive video material – not the stuff from TV, actual Jaeger-POV-material Newt almost brain-gasms right then and there. (Of course he tries, unsuccessfully, to hide that from Hermann, but two years with the man on the same 60 qm² and years of contact before make it impossible. Hermann knows him, doesn't approve of it and sends him a glare.)

Ten minutes later they are all set up, squished together on the sofa somebody had dragged in at one point and forgot there – Newt uses it to nap when he's stuck with a problem and Hermann is too busy to talk – and a small tablet computer is connected to a battered monitor. Tendo cracks his knuckles and types for a moment before a surprisingly good picture appears on the screen.

Mako, sandwiched between Tendo and Newt, gets big eyes while Newt, to her left, loudly voices his amazement at the view that opens up to them. They can overlook a large part of Melbourne, from high above the ground – right out of Striker Eureka's visor of the Conn-Pod pilot rig. On the two corners of the screen, the vital signs of the Hansen's are displayed, but other than that, the view is unblocked. Spinejackal in all its deadly glory comes into the frame from the right, splashing its way up Port Phillip Bay.

The only one not completely fascinated by the spectacle is Hermann, squeezed in between Newt's left side and the armrest.

"They were supposed to take it down in the Bass Strait, but it was surprisingly fast, even though it seems not as adapt to water than some of the others," Tendo explains while, on the screen, Striker Eureka gets ready to be dropped to the ground, right into the Bay. "That's why it was named Spinejackal – looks more like a dog than something amphibious."

"It's still at least 70% amphibious," Newt observes excitedly, and then rushed into a rant about the alignment of its four limbs, the protruding spine with small spikes, the glistening layer of slime ("It's not slime, Hermann! Mucus, maybe. I'd give my right arm to get my hands – well, one hand then – on a jar of it...") and anything else he can see from their limited, yet spectacular point of view.

Spinejackal is not exactly swimming, but rather running through the bay on four limbs, like an overly excited dog, and, just like a dog, it seems to leap up to tackle Striker Eureka. The four of them watch with their breath held how the Kaiju jumps right at the Jaeger – at them – before a metal fist comes into view and knocks the creature to the side before it can collide with Striker- _them_.

Even Hermann is frozen with anticipation.

That is, until Spinejackal comes crashing right back into their Jaeger and they all jump at the same time, with little coordination, so Tendo ends up on Mako, Mako halfway into Newt's ribs and Newt unceremoniously shoved straight across Hermann's lap. Unfortunately, Hermann jerks in surprise, too, and jams his knee right into Newt's disoriented face.

They pause the feed to get sorted out again. Tendo and Mako are mostly alright - although Mako apologizes too much and Tendo laughs _way _too much at Newt's rapidly swelling face. Within minutes, he can't see out of his right eye and his cheek is bright red. Of course his first impulse is to yell at Hermann, but from the way the other man is sitting really, really stiff and doesn't move, Newt realises he must be in pain, too. All the smashing and shoving can't have been good for the hip.

After Newt is supplied with a bag of frozen peas – thank you, mini-fridge – they resume watching, although Newt moves to sit on the floor this time. He tells them it's so he doesn't end up mutilated again and, for the sake of the cover, sends a half-hearted glare towards his lab partner, but in reality he's giving a bit more space to Hermann, who, too, doesn't mention it, but graciously says nothing when Newt leans back and rests his back against Hermann's legs, peas still pressed against the right side of his face.

Tendo happily points out which parts of Striker Eureka he consulted on, Mako dreams of the day she will get to pilot her own Jaeger and Newt desperately wishes he could be there when the feed changes from Striker Eureka's visor to a ground crew team, documenting how the harvesters start their work on the dead Kaiju, cutting him up into handy slices and carrying them away. Hermann remains quiet but asks Tendo for the data on the Breach activity later on.

X

Hermann is just about to (try and) lie down when there's a small knock at his door. You don't have to be a genius to guess who it is, but that doesn't mean that Hermann isn't surprised. For a moment, he debates simply pretending to be asleep or not at home, but then he remembers he's a grown-up and grabs his cane again, slowly making his way over to the door.

It's painful, he can feel the damaged bones, muscles and skin shift painfully, sending throbs through his hip and up and down his legs, but he carefully clears his face of any trace of it before opening the door.

As predicted, it's Newton. Swollen Newton.

For a small moment, Hermann feels almost sorry, but then he decides that it's not his fault – well, at least he didn't do it intentionally.

"Yes?"

"I thought I, uh, might check in on you. See if you were okay," Newton explains and looks at him sceptically.

"I'm fine." Or will be, in the morning, after a couple of painkillers.

Hermann half-expects Newton to argue, but to his surprise, he just nods and then produces a small container from somewhere next to him. "Okay. Then I'm just going to leave this here. My uncle used to make _Strudel_ when I was feeling down – it's really amazing with the swirly pattern and apples and cinnamon – of course you need ice cream and vanilla sauce but-" he stops, grins, and starts again: "I made Jing from the kitchen make it. Took me a while to convince her, but we got there." And with that, he pushes the container into Hermann's free hand. "Anyway, night, Herms."

"Don't call me that," Hermann corrects immediately, but Newton just grins and then walks across the hallway to his own room. When he's inside, Hermann, too, closes the door and, after staring at the slightly warm container in his hand, sits down and gives in to the deliciousness that is warm _Apfelstrudel _– even without ice cream or vanilla sauce – in the Hong Kong Shatterdome in February.

X

"Hermzilla?"

Newt starts laughing so hard at Hermann's appalled look that he slips and sprains his tailbone, in addition to his still swollen face. It's worth it.

* * *

_**Translations** _

_Nein... warum sollte ich? – No... why should I?_

_Eine Mauer wird nicht helfen! – A wall won't help!_

_Hermann, du bist eine Schande für die Familie Gottlieb. – Hermann, you're a disgrace for the Gottlieb family._


	3. Ice Cream And Thunderstorms

**July 2022**

The summer of July 2022 turns out to be one of the hottest of the millennium so far. Hermann remembers 2003, which was a horribly hot year for Europe, and both scientists remember 2010, when the heat had been unbearable in Russia, resulting in the 2010 Russian wildfires. 2015 was very bad for America – Newt remembers hiding away in an underground lab because he hates the heat with a passion – and Hermann shares this dislike.

Growing up in Garmisch-Partenkirchen had been a pleasant experience (well, at least weather-wise) and after that he spent most of his time in Great Britain, surrounded by people equally wary of high temperatures.

Neither of them is prepared for this summer – but then again, so is (or rather isn't) the whole Shatterdome and most of China's population. Despite being very apt at adapting quickly, there are hundreds of casualties within the first two weeks of the heat wave. Hong Kong doesn't face as much death as the more northern provinces of China like Hebei, but there are reports of people collapsing in the streets every day.

Those who can, try to catch a soft breeze coming from the ocean – but that turns out to be exceptionally difficult for the inhabitants of the Hong Kong Shatterdome. Despite its location at the south end of Tsing Yi Island, at the waterfront, walking out into the open is a completely stupid idea due to the fact that the metal cover panels on its outside turn the whole platform into a Shatterdome-sized frying pan within hours.

Even the temperatures underground are unbearable, the metal keeping the heat in and no amount of ventilation systems can help clear it out. The hallways are stuffy, Kwoon sessions are re-scheduled to night-time and although everyone is on the edge of aggression for weeks, it's simply too hot to fight.

Shaolin Rogue, which had been damaged during its last fight, goes up for test runs at the beginning of July and it ends in a small disaster. Despite being the most advanced technology on the planet, the Jaegers remain what they are primarily – and that is big metal boxes. During the test run out in Victoria Harbour (ordered by the government to lift the spirits of the city's inhabitants), one of the pilots, Jiahui, collapses from the heat and Shaolin Rogue shuts down in the middle of the Harbour.

Her collapse results in a medical check for the whole population of the Shatterdome – but there are exactly two people who miss it. One is Newton Geiszler. The other is Hermann Gottlieb.

They are busy doing science.

And moaning about the heat. "Can't we just go to Garmisch for a while? You have family there! We can climb a couple of mountains. Mountains with snow on top of them. Cold, icy snow." Newt sighs dreamily.

"You are proposing a holiday, an activity that is supposedly recreational. And distinctly lacking that quality if you are around," Hermann throws over his shoulder without heat (well, emotional heat anyway, because it's way too hot in the lab, despite it being supposed to be cool because of the Kaiju bits), staring at his blackboard.

Also because Hermann would rather eat Kaiju liver than spend time with his family, Newt supposes. But he doesn't say it out loud – fighting has lost its fascination the day the thermometer climbed over the 30 degree mark inside the Shatterdome. Instead, he concentrates on keeping his specimens from deteriorating.

The passer-by would probably count on Hermann being the one suffering under the heat more. He's still wearing his usual trousers and a dress shirt, his only concession to the high temperatures being the loss of the woollen sweaters.

Newt, on the other hand, has not only lost his tie, but, on a particularly memorable incident, all of his clothes aside from his briefs and boots. Of course there were loudly voiced complaints coming from Hermann, as well as an official warning note because he was violating safety protocols and a dress code of which Newt had never heard before and hey – in his eyes, there was no danger towards health and safety seeing as he was still wearing safety goggles and a lab coat when handling delicate matter. So now Newt is back to fully dressed, although his skinny jeans are rolled up to his knees, and his arms are bared, too, with his dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

And although there are some mean bets going around the Shatterdome about when Dr. Gottlieb will fall off his ladder, collapsing from the heat and Dr. Geiszler's annoying behaviour... it's actually Newt who suddenly feels really, really strange and wobbly- and then the world goes black.

X

Hermann doesn't see Newton go down, but the sudden thump startles him enough to look over his shoulder and towards the table where his lab partner has just been tampering with... _something_ in a glass of ammonia. The something is still on the table, but Newton is lying next to it, unmoving.

Quicker than anyone has ever seen him move, Hermann slides down the ladder in a move practiced until perfection over the years (it doesn't hurt his hip, despite what people think – the hip is mostly bad when walking or running. As long as he doesn't land too hard, it's all fine) and hurries over, his cane barely touching the ground fully.

"Newton!"

If Hermann were on the floor and Newton the one with a cane, he'd probably poke him. Strike that, he would DEFINITELY poke him. But, alas, their roles are reversed and Hermann does not poke him. Instead, he kneels down next to him and rolls him around until his pale, sweaty face is no longer smashed into the tiles of the floor. His glasses sit on his nose askew and Hermann carefully removes them, knowing just fine how painful glasses-smashed-into-face can feel when you fall asleep – or, you know, lose consciousness – with them still on.

Newton doesn't move, but at least his pulse is steady, if a bit too fast.

"You imbecile," Hermann mutters, mostly because he doesn't know what else to say and he doesn't like the hollow feeling in his stomach when he looks at the unnaturally pale face of his... friend. He's facing a problem now, though. He will never get Newton on the sofa or anywhere else comfortable all by himself and he's certainly not going to leave him on the ground while he goes looking for help. Before he can locate his beeper and use it to call for help, though, two sets of footsteps come closer and then a female voice tells him: "Move to the side. Aleksis can carry the little scientist."

Coming from Sasha Kaidanovsky, calling Newt 'little' is not even unjustified – she is, after all, almost as tall as Hermann – but the mathematician is not going to philosophise about height differences now. Instead, he makes room for Sasha's gigantic husband, who leans down and picks Newton up as if he were a plush toy.

"On the sofa, if you would," Hermann directs and Aleksis obediently follows, putting Newton down surprisingly carefully.

"Vladivostok has better isolation. Cold in winter, but not so hot in summer," Sasha observes with obviously no intention to leave. Hermann, frankly, is too intimidated by the two of them to ask them to do so, either, so they stay while he gets a cool cloth for Newton's forehead.

Reduced to nurture duties. If someone told him that he'd do that two or three years ago, he would have called them mad. Now it seems the natural, logical – if highly annoying – thing to do. The Russians watch him from a couple of chairs a bit away. They don't seem to want to make conversation, for which Hermann is grateful, and so he just sits next to Newton silently until the other man begins to stir. His first word is predictable (and Hermann feels just a little bit relieved under all the annoyance).

"Dude." It's more of a raspy groan than a word.

Hermann rolls his eyes. "I really hope that wasn't the first words you uttered as a child."

Newton blinks a few times, then squints. "Where are my glasses?"

"On the table. You collapsed from the heat and I thought it better to take them off of you."

"I... collapsed?" Newton's voice goes up at least one octave – a sign he's already getting better by the second.

"Like a princess," Sasha provides from the sidelines helpfully.

The man on the sofa seems confused to hear her voice and raises his head a bit before whispering: _"Siehst du die Russen auch?"_

"_Ja,"_ Hermann answers, refraining from rolling his eyes again or otherwise he might get sick, too. "Lt. Kaidanovsky carried you over here."

"You called a pilot team to drag me to the sofa?" Newton grins broadly while Hermann decides he liked him better unconscious.

"We were going to the Mess Halls. They have ice cream now," Sasha explains and the first reaction of the day on Aleksis face is a slight sparkle in his eyes. Hermann, like Newton, has read about aggression problems of the tall Russian, but apparently ice cream is not only keeping him cool temperature-wise.

That seems to spark Newton's life spirits, too. "Ice cream?" He swings his legs around and sits up -a little too fast from the way his eyes widen for a moment and the bit of colour that just started to come back to his cheeks disappears again. Instead of pausing, though, he simply shoves his glasses back on his nose and gets to his feet, a bit wobbly. "Let's go Hermann!"

Alright. Five minutes ago, Newton was unconscious and looked like hell and now he's about to go for ice cream? Hermann, as often, wonders why he even bothers. Newton is and will always be a reckless, mad man-child.

But ice cream... does sound like a splendid idea.

Aleksis, already grinning broadly, has put an arm around Newton, squishing him into his side – Hermann supposes this is a form of support, although Newton looks honestly about to pass out from asphyxiation and they make a ridiculous couple, what with the scientist only reaching up to the Russians armpits. His gravity-defying hair has to be tickling Aleksis (and this thought actually amuses Hermann so greatly he has to turn around to hide his smile).

Sasha walks next to them and Hermann follows, carefully avoiding to look at her for too long, because she's dressed according to the temperatures – which means, in not much more than gym shorts and a tank top – and the unfortunate people who have been sparing her a second glance have ended up with a threatening Aleksis right in their faces. (Not that Sasha needs her husband to defend her, as she has proven on several occasions.)

So, Hermann follows quietly, keeping an eye on Newton and his health – because Newton is incapable of doing so – while his partner actually manages to hold a conversation with the usually monosyllabic Russians.

"How long are you guys here for?"

"Until Shaolin Rogue is back up," Sasha replies, showing no sign of being affected by the head except for a light sheen of sweat on her skin. "You don't feel the heat in Cherno Alpha so much because we don't sit on top of it."

Of course. Hermann remembers that the Conn-Pod with the pilot rig is situated at the Russian Jaeger's centre.

"And then you're going back to the Wall? Not many Kaiju attacks there over the past years," Newton observes.

"We're patrolling the Wall, keeping watch. Help out other Jaegers," Sasha agrees, pride in her voice. Everyone knows that the Kaidanovskys are extremely good at what they are doing. They fight ferociously, pure rage and power, and therefore they are a force not to be taken lightly. Before Newton can say something to that, she looks over her shoulder and gives Hermann an unidentifiable look. "Your father is at Vladivostok at the moment."

"Ah," Hermann makes, mostly because he has no idea what else he is supposed to respond to that.

And then Aleksis joins in. "He is a scared little old man."

Newton throws a look back towards Hermann, who looks back with a blank face. There is honestly nothing else to add to that.

Still, Newton finds something nevertheless: "Yeah, he's a bit of a dick. But once we manage to close the Breach, he'll realize he chose the wrong side."

"Ah, the little scientist is a fighter," Aleksis observes with a grin (and he seems to be weirdly fond of Newton) and ruffles through his hair in a manner that is only inches away from breaking the biologist's skull in half.

"Call me Newt," Newton mumbles absentmindedly.

And Sasha has the final word by saying: "We are not our fathers." She manages to look at Hermann as well as her husband, who glances back, barely visibly nodding his head. Hermann feels strangely elated.

X

"I totally knew you were gonna have vanilla," Newt states, happily licking away on his – not less unimaginative – chocolate ice cream.

"What could possibly be wrong with vanilla?" Hermann condescends to ask, doing his best to not show how much he's enjoying this simple treat.

"Chocolate is way cooler." For once, Newt leaves out the 'duh'. But then he surprises Hermann by nudging him in the side and telling him: "Vanilla's okay, though. Sometimes you need a bit vanilla in your life."

"As opposed to Kaiju Blue," Hermann jokes drily, pointedly not thinking about what else his friend might have been referring to. _Childish._

Newt just smiles and licks his ice cream, lounging on his side of the sofa, while Hermann concentrates on his quickly melting treat. He sits on the sofa properly – in a manner that can very much not be described as lounging – but Newt doesn't comment on it because that way, he can claim more of the sofa for himself.

All in all, the day ends very pleasantly (and if Newt and Hermann watch each other more carefully over the course of the next days, always alert in case of the other showing signs of exhaustion or dizziness, neither of them mentions it.)

X

"Herminator?"

"Newton, I will hit you repeatedly with my cane!"

X

A couple of weeks into the heatwave, a tropical storm hits Hong Kong with the ferocity of a Category III Kaiju. Unfortunately for the K-Science department, the Shatterdome is right in the middle of it. And with the Shatterdome, the equipment Newton has pulled out and onto the platform where the helicopters land.

Of course the storm doesn't come surprising, but Newton's time management has never been the best. (A euphemism, to be honest.) The sky is darkening rapidly in the distance, a wide range from pitch black to tumbling cloud towers of dark gray with lightning flashing and thunder rolling. The wind that sweeps over the platform picks up force by the minute and yet Newton is still busy with something that looks like a plunger covered in a soft membrane. The thing is connected to a couple of screens on a tea trolley and reading data from the air. Or at least that's what it should be doing.

Hermann is watching the screens that remain a dark green while Newton points the plunger towards the direction of the Exclusion Zone, trying to pick up some form of readings.

They should get back in, as quickly as possible, but this is the first day in weeks when it's not boiling hot – due to the strong wind – and Newton couldn't wait any longer to test his invention.

"We need to get back in if you don't want to get electrocuted by your own devilish creation once it starts raining," Hermann yells over the wind but Newton either ignores him or actually doesn't hear him.

As if on command, though, the lightning and thunder come in shorter intervals and the air tastes like rain. And then it starts _pouring_.

Hermann instantly moves away from the screens when they start sizzling and Newton drops the plunger in surprised when the first gush of wind and rain soaks him right through to the bones. "BACK INSIDE!" Hermann orders but Newton – Newton starts fiddling with the plunger again, although its energy feed has died together with the screens.

They're both wet to the bones now and Hermann decides that Newton had his chance. He grips is colleagues bicep tightly and yanks him around, yelling "INSIDE NOW!" just when lightning strikes one of the PPDC tankers that is docked at the side of the Shatterdome. The explosion ripples through the sudden darkness of the storm and it seems to startle Newton into moving.

The two of them hurry over the platform towards the safety of inside, but the slippery metal under Hermann's cane slows them down – surprisingly, Newton has not yet shook him off and doesn't seem intent on doing so in the near future. "CAN YOU HURRY UP A BIT GRAMPS?!" he calls over the storm, but the worry in his voice betrays his exasperated tone.

In front of them, the doors open and against the light from the inside two figures appear, although who exactly they are is impossible to make out through the raging storm.

Although it's the middle of the day, it's completely dark and the only light source is the occasional flashes of lightening. And then a ragged piece of metal comes out of nowhere and drills itself into the ground just meters from the two scientists. Newton jerks back and, since Hermann is still holding on to him, succeeds in pulling the older man back, too, ending up with a flailing, soaked Hermann pressed against his chest.

"Jesus," Newton pants (Hermann can only hear him over the noise because he's so incredible close), and Hermann scrambles to get back his grip on the ground so they can hurry forward.

They make it around the chunk of metal before a shadowy figure almost collides with them, coming out of the darkness, and then the massive body of Aleksis Kaidanovsky moves in place behind their backs, shielding them effectively from the aggressive weather.

"MOVE." He barks and they both twitch before managing the rest of the way without disturbance.

When the door closes behind Aleksis, the K-Science division is still half-deaf from the noise of the storm outside and it takes them a couple of moments to realize they are safe, inside, soaked and freezing cold. Hermann's hair is plastered to his skull while Newton, always in motion, shivering, nervously tapping his foot, is raking a shaking hand through his hair, sending it standing up in every direction. They're both shaking, actually, their fingers and toes icy. The annoying sound Hermann hears is finally identified as chattering teeth. Newton's and his, to be precise.

Someone – Sasha – drapes a thick coat around Hermann's shoulders, complete with a fur-trimmed hood that makes him look like a 2013 rapper fresh from the thrift shop, while Newton is being wrapped into a piece of fabric that is either a very large cloth or quite possibly just a jumper in Aleksis' size.

Shivering, cold Hermann glares at Newt all the way back to the showers and then afterwards until they're in their respective rooms. And, for good measure, he keeps glaring at the door so that Newton might feel it telepathically.

Two days later, the Russians leave for Vladivostok again and the leading scientists of K-Science are both sick due to the rapid change of being too hot, followed by ice cold and soaked to the bone. The fluffy coat remains in Hermann's room and he develops a certain fondness for it. (Sasha and Aleksis don't want it back and instead refer to Hermann as their very own "Doctor", completely ignoring the existence of his actual name – which is way nevertheless way better than Newton's title of "Little Scientist".)

X

Newt hates being sick and usually doesn't let it stop him from working, but this time around, his limbs hurt and the world starts spinning as soon as he sits up. (His attempt to get up after he hears about the attack on Mindanao, stopped by the Australians, fails spectacularly when he only makes it half-way towards the door before his legs give out, shaking in spasms from exhaustion.)

Glaring at the ceiling for a while, bored out of his mind, Newt finally decides to whip out his phone to text. The message doesn't have to travel far. In fact, it only needs to cross the hallway.

"Hey Hermann?"

The reply takes a while, but it does come. Even if it's not friendly. "You're sick. Stop texting."

"You're sick, too." And apparently bored, or else he'd never text back.

"Yes, thanks to you."

Since he can't see Hermann, Newt has to picture the face he's making – but thanks to spending every single day together, that's a piece of cake for Newt. Still... "How is a thunderstorm my fault?"

"You acting obtuse is not something I have missed the past two days."

Newt tries to grin whilst sneezing at the same time and although the result is less than pleasing, he gleefully texts back: "Aw, so you have missed something else?"

"Go to sleep, Dr. Geiszler. You're halluzinating."

X

A week later, they are both back to full health and Newt is running through their shared lab space like a headless chicken, overcome with joy at the 800 pound horn of dead Taurax. It's curved in a mouflon-like manner and in almost perfect condition, separated neatly from the rest of the skull and once it's cleaned from debris, dirt and blood, it looks like a gigantic hunting trophy.

Hermann bites back any comments about it until he catches Newt taking a couple of photographs from different angles from the distance so it looks like the horn is coming out of his forehead as it would be the case with a particularly ugly, tattooed unicorn.

Newt is having the time of his young life until Hermann enters, sees him staging another photo and gives him a look straight from the fiery pits of hell. For a moment, Newt imagines flames blazing up from the ground behind his colleague and he has to snort, which doesn't help with Hermann's mood. Not at all, to be honest.

It takes another five minutes and a few more pointed looks until they're at each other's throats again and as usual when they are fighting, their fight takes them miles away from what they originally started fighting about in the first place. And, as it is the case often, the arguments turn to more personal things than staging-unicorn-pictures with bits of dead Kaiju. For example-

"You are a terrible singer," Hermann argues heatedly.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – Shakespeare," Newt replies easily, referencing something literary because Hermann can't stand it and referencing an Englishman because the mathematician chose the United Kingdom as his adopted country and won't say anything against it or its (albeit long dead) inhabitants.

"It goes back to the Greek, you imbecile," is the instant reply and while Newt still wonders why his lab mate knows that, Hermann adds: "And you're overbearing."

"Care for a mirror?"

"Intrusive and loud!"

"Part of my charm."

"Being hyperactive and fidgety is not charming."

"It can be," Newt says with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle. "You'll never get bored with me." Of course he doesn't mean 'you' as in Hermann. It's a 'you' for people in general. Obviously.

"And there's the narcissistic streak," Hermann counters without missing a beat, and just the red tinge to his cheeks speaks of the fight growing more and more heated once again.

"Well, I am technically the leading luminary in the field of Kaiju biology," Newt argues, feeling his face heat up, too, but mostly with glee. This is _fun_. And besides, totally true – he is the rock star of Kaiju science. Together with Hermann, of course. They are like... Tenacious D.

Hermann, who throws his hands up in the air exasperatedly "You are remote and insular with that mad obsession with Kaiju Blue and monster intestines! Pieces of dead flesh are all you care about!"

Newt doesn't hide his disbelief. "Duh, because they're awesome?!"

"That is offensive! _You_ are being _offensive_ to everyone who died because of these damn creatures!"

As soon as that sentence is out, Hermann clamps his mouth shut, apparently realising that he has gone too far. Newt, too, remains silent this time, all possible replies swallowed down before they can make it out. He blinks at Hermann, who watches him uneasily.

When Newt finally speaks again, his voice has lost a bit of its usually high pitch, indicating just how unsettled he is despite him not admitting it. "I don't, okay? I don't- I'm not being offensive." He rakes a hand through his hair, looking up at the ceiling, around his lab – anywhere but Hermann for a small eternity. But when his eyes finally focus back on the mathematician, there is a strange glint in them (one Hermann has never seen before, and one only Hannibal Chau will get to see years in the future, after Otachi has been killed and Newt, bloodied and broken, will go back to his headquarters and demand a Kaiju brain). "Those Kaiju are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I could study them for centuries and wouldn't get bored of them! If I had a say in it, then part of me would want to not close the Breach so I can keep studying them, but those people dying out there – some of them are my friends, and a lot of them are strangers, but either way I don't want them to die. You don't get to say I don't respect them!"

For a while, it looks like Hermann will reply something snarky to that. It's what Newt expects and the hard ball in his stomach, combined with the disbelief and anger that laces his whole thinking right now, tightens even more.

What Hermann finally says, though, surprises him. "It was wrong of me to say that. I must apologize."

The apology crashes through Newt's mind in a cool wave, submerging all the hot anger and hurt, leaving behind a completely calm lake of thoughts with only the occasional spark of thought rippling the surface. Newt is reminded of a childhood holiday at Lake Como, diving beneath the surface, submerged in cool silence, alone with his rapidly spinning mind.

He knows he rubs people the wrong way, knows his enthusiasm is misunderstood by almost everyone. Newt could say that now. Could tell Hermann that. Talk about it. But it's not what he does, it's not what they do. This- this conversation is close enough to it. And somehow Newt has the feeling that maybe Hermann understands it, even without him saying it.

So instead, he slowly starts grinning, relieved when he sees understanding dawn in Hermann's eyes, followed by an artfully conjured up frown in anticipation of Newt's comment. Which is: "Never thought I'd see the day you apologize for something."

"Mark it in your calendar because it will definitely not happen again. I only apologize when I'm wrong after all."

"Funny, I don't hear you apologizing whenever you finish a new theory?"

Hermann only lifts once corner of his mouth a minuscule bit – but it's there, plain to see to those who care to spend enough time with him. "That is because firstly, I'm never wrong and secondly, so I can hear you apologize for everything you get wrong."

And with that, they are back at their usual banter. The loom of the more serious part of their discussion remains in the labs for a while longer, both of them thinking back to it with an uneasy feeling. Neither of them brings it up again, but there is a newfound understanding and respect between them, deepening and – surprisingly – strengthening the strange friendship they share.

X

"Hermigator?"

"You're running out of ideas, aren't you?" Hermann openly smirks, bathing in triumph. "That one even rhymes with the last one."

Ever the optimist, Newt ignores the critique and instead asks: "Is that a yes?"

"That is most certainly a no, and it will remain one."

* * *

**Translation**

_Siehst du die Russen auch? – Can you see the Russians, too?_


	4. It's Not That Easy, Being Herms

**September 2022**

Slowly, the Shatterdome falls silent. With Tentalus'attack that has been ultimately stopped by Crimson Typhoon, but not without losing another Jaeger, the last of the Mark Is and IIs have been destroyed.

(Well, except for Cherno Alpha, obviously, but there are so many scrap parts used up in rebuilding it that it's barely considered a Mark I anymore.)

Losing those Jaegers is...

It's Hermann's most accomplished work rotting away in Oblivion Bay, it's people who lose their sons, daughters, fathers and mothers whenever Rangers die. The thing is, though, that Newt doesn't know most of the Rangers. All he sees is the cold desperation in his lab mate's eyes when the news of another fallen Jaeger reach them.

It eats Hermann up from the inside and when Newt walks in on him staring at a holographic projection of the Wall at Anchorage, with the face of his father in a dossier next to it, he realizes that Hermann is doubting himself. Not just in the 'not-sure-if-that-works' way, but in the 'Rangers-die-along-with-my-Jaegers-and-I-can't-safe-humanity' way.

"Hermann?" he asks carefully and steps closer to the work desk.

The mathematician turns and looks up and Newt is taken aback when he sees his friend's eyes are shiny and just a tiny bit red, as if he'd been crying. Maybe it's just from exhaustion, or from staring at the screen for too long. After all, Hermann has never shown any form of emotion except anger and, on rare occasion, amusement.

'Fundamental need to create distance between self and problem'.

'Impulse to maintain controlling distance.'

That's Hermann's psych evaluation, which Newt has read a long time ago. Hermann doesn't do emotion, is so uptight and stiff that Newt often asks himself how the other man can even properly function. Now he realizes that this is exactly why Hermann can function in the first place.

When he stops himself, asks himself if anything they're doing is even making a difference in a time when Jaegers fall like flies and the Kaiju seem to finally get the hang of erasing anything the PPDC puts up against them – when Hermann stops his work to question himself now, he'll collapse under the pressure.

Hell, Newt too wonders what is going to happen if they don't manage to find a way to stop the Kaiju. But he has still hope. Optimist until death, and then most likely even in whatever form of afterlife there is.

Hermann, on the other hand, doesn't even have the support of his family and is shown every day that there is an alternative to his way of fighting, an alternative to build mechas to defend the Earth. There is the Wall, and his father, and at the moment, they are successful, while Hermann's life work crumbles to dust beneath Kaiju claws and teeth.

"What is it, Doctor Geiszler?"

"Don't Doctor-Geiszler me, dude," Newt protest before slumping down on a swivel chair next to Hermann.

"Don't 'dude' me, then," Hermann argues back, his face haggard and pale in the blue light of the projection.

"The only reason for you to stare at the Wall is if you plan on making a table-tennis simulation and want to use the Wall as the net in the middle," Newt jokes but watches his friend closely.

Hermann, predictable, scoffs. "As it is the case so very often, your attempt at humour is uncalled-for."

"Yeah, but, the thing is – if I'm not distracting you, you might wallow in self-pity and that's totally not you, so I need you to stop being not-you." Newt furrows his eyebrows. "That made more sense in my head."

The older man quirks an eyebrow, but his mouth loses a bit of its hardness. "That wouldn't be the first time."

Newt cocks his head, sensing that this distraction seems to be exactly what Hermann needs. "If you get to insult me some more, will you stop frowning? It makes your face look as crumbled as your clothes and I can't work with so much ugliness around."

"You actually call your process of messing around with intestines and being a general waste of oxygen 'work'?" Hermann looks actually pleased at his comment which is infinitely better than self-loathing and insecurity.

And so they argue. Until late that night, when Newt flops down on the sofa angrily and Hermann finally shuffles over, handing him a freaking peanut butter sandwich of all things. Hermann, who never even looks at the PB jar because it's most likely offensive to everything that is holy to his taste buds.

"... You cut it into rectangles," Newt observes.

Hermann simply gives him an irritated side-glance and then sits down – more stiffly, more proper – next to him. They eat in almost silence, only Newt's music is thumping slowly in the background.

Only when their food is gone and a sleepy feeling settles in, Newt dares to ask: "Do you really think this is not going to get better? Because, don't get me wrong, we're totally going to get the hang of the Kaiju at one point, but – do you think we're completely wrong at the moment?"

Hermann's face clouds over with anger. "Statistically, it will not get better." Ah, numbers. Of course he has numbers. But what he adds surprises Newt. "However, there have to be people who fight."

The grin that breaks out on Newt's face is so bright his cheeks start to hurt, but he doesn't stop grinning and instead laughs out, loudly and gleefully. "DUDE! You are totally badass sometimes."

And Hermann says nothing about 'dude', and nothing about 'being badass', but he, too, grins slightly, a spark lighting up in his eyes, and tension leaves his shoulders. Soon enough, they both sit on the sofa, leaning heavily on each other, unable to stop giggling.

They sit there with a spark of hope that 2023 is going to be a better year.

X

**2023**

In 2023, it seems like the Kaiju have simply forgotten about Earth.

More optimistic people believe that they are frightened, stopped coming through the Drift because they were defeated by the Jaegers so often they have had enough. Apparently no-one remembers just how many Jaegers have been torn to pieces over the past few years.

Less optimistic people want to hope that the Kaiju have disappeared for good, but don't really believe it and live in constant fear of the next attack.

And Hermann Gottlieb doesn't understand the world around him anymore. (True, most parts of it have always been an enigma to him anyway, things that don't have to do with maths, machines or engineering, mostly.) Just when he thought he'd found a pattern, something useful to calculate, predict the Kaiju attacks with certainty, they simply step out of the pattern by... not coming anymore.

True, there is an attack in early February that Hermann has predicted, but the one in March doesn't happen. By July, the world slowly wakes up, blinking carefully into the sunlight of a Kaiju-free era. And by September only half of the Shatterdomes around the world house their full capacity – many people working there are on leave for a longer holiday for the first time in years.

Not Hermann, though. The months passing without a trace of Kaiju take their toll on him. The shadows under his eyes grow larger with every week he's staring at his calculations. He tries to find a mistake he doesn't even believe he made and when he doesn't do that, he racks his brains for ways to improve the Jaegers.

Feeling like the whole world is crushing down on him, he doesn't notice Newton being gone – which no-one even thought possible what with Newton being Newton and therefore the most impossible man to _not_ notice on the planet – until the younger man comes back three weeks later.

"Is that a ... slide rule?" Newton asks and Hermann looks up, blinking slowly. When's the last time he's been asleep? Can't be that long... maybe a day? Or two?

"I needed to eliminate the possibility of the electronic devices being inaccurate."

"How can you even calculate equations like yours with a slide rule?" Newton's voice, high-pitched as usual carries even more disbelief than before.

"Very slowly," Hermann answers distractedly, trying to decide if the circuit he wants to install in the Mark Vs will accidentally electrocute a pilot.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Newton has stepped closer, peeking over his shoulder. "Do you want to deep-fry the Rangers now that there are no Kaiju around to do it for you?"

"Dr. Geiszler, what do you understand of these circuits?"

Apparently, Hermann's lack of condescendence, even despite using Newton's title rather than first name, alarms his lab mate because he reaches out and takes the pen with which Hermann has been scribbling down his ideas out of the engineer's hands.

"Enough, okay? Seriously, when's the last time you've slept or eaten? Did you even leave the lab while I was gone?"

"I-" Hermann stops himself mid-sentence, then starts again. "How long were you gone?"

Newton throws his hands in the air exasperatedly, his voice cracking but the worried look on his face betraying his indignation. "You didn't even notice? Man, I'm wounded."

"I was busy."

Newton scoffs. "You're a wreck. You need to go to sleep like now. And you need to eat."

"I don't-" A yawn effectively cuts him off. Maybe he can spare a couple of hours.

On his way to his room, Newton follows naturally and doesn't stop when Hermann moves over the doorstep. "I'll keep an eye on you," he states. Hermann, in his sleep-deprived state with the world barely more than a distracting accumulation of colours, sounds and smells, doesn't even think to question it. He does mumble a slow "Why don't you go and do something useful..." but then sleep takes over and he sinks down on his mattress.

X

Hermann has been sound asleep for the better part of four hours now and when Newt's done with silently wandering around the bare room, eyeing the few personal possession that he finds lying around, he sits down on the edge of the bed, careful not to disturb his friend, and settles back with a sketchpad, intending to design a new tattoo. Instead, he finds himself sketching a Jaeger, Mako with her hair blowing in the wind the way he remembers her standing on the platform of the Hong Kong Shatterdome earlier that day – and then sleeping Hermann.

Newt's not so good with people, they're all rugged lines and exaggerated proportions. Kaiju are easier because everything about them is exaggerated in the first place. But while he's not very good at drawing Hermann, he takes his time studying him. There are no windows, obviously, but the soft warm light of a reading lamp Newt uses removes the deep lines from Hermann's face, like a soft-focus effect of a camera.

Hermann is not what people – or Newt – would call beautiful. Definitely not. Not even in the soft light. But the light does something to him that de-ages him by at least 15 years. Relaxed in sleep he looks younger than Newt has ever seen him before. There are still the old-man's clothes, but ridiculous as they are Hermann wouldn't be Hermann without them.

On a scientific note, Newt notices how rough Hermann's hands are, the one resting on his stomach, the other one somewhere next to his head. It's the chalk dust and disinfecting them too often – whenever he accidentally touches something Newt has spilled. However, on a decidedly unscientific note, Newt realizes he'd like to touch those hands.

True, Hermann and he fight on a daily basis and their relationship would be described as 'frenemies' by most of their mutual friends – but it's so much more than just that. They have been working with each other for years now, have emailed for even longer. They sneak into the kitchen, eat ice-cream together, go to the showers and occasionally endanger and subsequently safe each other's lives. And, most importantly, they spark each other's genius and bring out the best in each other.

Vanessa lives on the other side of the planet and Newt has spent most of his waking time in Hermann's company. It's not that strange that he has developed a sort of... crush (no, crush is too strong of a word, there has to be something else – Newt has just no idea what other word there might be for it). Crush. Interest. Yes. Interest, that's it.

Of course Newt spends time with other people, too - he sometimes goes out with Tendo and a few of the J-Tech guys and then there's the poker nights with the Weis – and the Kaidanovskys when they're around – but usually Hermann grudgingly tags along to those, too.

And that one time at a Karaoke bar – a place that definitely made it into the Top-5 favourite places Newt's ever been to – Newt was swept off his feet by a cute Namibian soccer player ("_Fußball_, Newton! Your Americanisms are highly irritating.") who sang a completely cracked up version of "I'll Make Love To You", winking at him ever so often. She was almost as horrible at singing as he was (and, like him, she didn't really care) and by the end of the night it was pretty clear that she was interested in Newt. However, he somehow ended up going back to the Shatterdome with Hermann – remembering neither why he ultimately let her down, nor what the Namibian women's soccer team was doing in Hong Kong.

So, usually, Newt wouldn't think of Hermann like _that_, even though they are the ones the easiest... _available_ to each other, but now that Hermann's asleep and not muttering angrily or glaring at him, it's actually nice sitting with him.

(Newt starts to see the appeal in why Hermann said he liked him better when he was unconscious that one time the heat got too much.)

But no matter how nice Hermann looks and how irresistible the nagging in the back of Newt's head is to lace his fingers through the mathematician's rougher ones, Newt is about 67 % convinced that that is a bad idea. Mostly because if Hermann wakes up, he's going to be well-rested enough to be pissed. Also because it's creepy to hold your friend's hand while they're a) asleep and b) usually averse to most forms of human contact, especially physical one. Also, he's married (and despite wanting to be a rock star, Newt is not exactly interested in stealing other people away from their spouses.)

It's probably just excitement of having secretly missed Hermann over the course of his holiday and then seeing him again, combined with worry about the stupidhead's incapability to function without him.

So Newt remains where he is, seated at Hermann's feet.

Until he falls asleep, topples over and curls up against his friend.

X

Hermann wakes up hours later and sits up before realising he's experiencing loss of warmth at his back. At which point he notices Newton, fast asleep, drooling just a little bit on the arm his head is resting on. The other arm is close to his chest – he hasn't been holding Hermann, but was still almost completely snuggled up against him.

And while Hermann does roll his eyes, he moves away _silently_, heading for the bathroom.

The action of not waking and yelling at Newton speaks volumes to the silent room. If only there was someone to hear it. But one occupant is asleep and the other too distant, too wrapped up in equations, solutions, numbers.

X

"Is it supposed to be doing that?"

"Shut up Newton!"

"I really don't think it's supposed to do that."

"Newton I swear to God-"

"You don't even believe in God and I really think you should stop-"

"NEWTON!"

"HERMANN!"

"_GOTTLIEB! GEISZLER!"_

"Marshal?"

**BOOM.**

The sound of a small explosion ripples through the Jaeger bays and then the world goes dark around Newt and Hermann as metal starts to cascade down on them and the few mechanics around them.

X

Hermann wakes up some time in the afternoon. The first thing he notices in disdain is not the pain but the fact that he's wearing a hospital gown. Without underwear, apparently.

Then the pain does flare up which serves at least as a distraction from Hermann's attire.

Upon closer examination, his hip is worse than ever although ironically it _looks_ best, compared to the rest of his body. He feels - and looks - like a giant, walking bruise. Plus, he can't turn his head properly to the right side.

The left side is better and Hermann faces an empty bed. The clue he needs to identify whom it belongs to is the pair of boots standing at the end.

_Obviously_ they had to put him into the same room as Newton. As if there hadn't been any other options.

Like alone. Or at least with- _Oh God, he didn't accidentally kill Marshal Pentecost, did he?_ Hermann panics for a moment, trying to recall what exactly had happened seconds before the plasma blaster overheated. The Marshal's voice had been coming from the speaker of the LOCCENT, Hermann's sure of that. So at least he's been away from the danger zone.

Coming to think of it, now Hermann is sort of glad that he's been put into one room with Newton. First of all, he doesn't plan on actually staying here for long (he'll have to try and move in a moment, but right now it's too blissful, just resting and thinking) and secondly, the other rooming options would have been the J-Tech guys. It's not like Hermann – as a sort of father to the Jaegers – was not allowed near one, but... the overheating plasma blaster might have been his fault, and so was the following explosion. They probably won't hold too much of a grudge against him, but if it comes down to business, brains do not always triumph over brawn and most of the tech guys possess exceptionally lot of that brawn.

So, as soon as he can get out of bed, back to his lab – and therefore creating a safe distance between the J-Techs and himself – and back to his work, the better. Which is why he needs to move. Can't be too hard, if Newton is already out of bed - and he's been standing right next to Hermann during the explosion after all.

But when Hermann tries to use whatever rudimentary abs he has to sit up, he realizes that maybe this will take a bit more time. And a lot more painkillers.

X

Night has long settled – at least according to the clock at the lock of the med bay doors – when Hermann tries to escape. But said lock is closed firmly and Hermann can't exactly buzz for someone. They'd never let him leave.

(Which is probably the most logic decision, at least concerning his medical status, but Hermann is nothing if not determined. And stubborn. And a tiny bit irresponsible.)

And so the pacing of the semi-dark hallways starts again, while Hermann tries very hard not to meet any medics and tries to ignore the simply undignified way in which he is dressed due to the fact that there were no clothes in the room besides Newton's boots (and even if there had been clothes, Hermann would probably have been incapable of contorting his body into the necessary shapes to put them on.)

At least the gown is one that looks like a t-shirt, with an actual backside, not just tied together by flimsy ribbons. Hermann is absolutely not going to have his behind peeking out while he moves through a nightly hospital ward, in search for freedom, clothes and/or Newton.

He's slow and walking is still a kind of painful activity, but the IV stand proves to be a worthy substitute for his cane. It being on wheels means that it's also a lot quieter – a useful quality when it comes to stalking wild Newton Geiszlers.

Speaking of – a pale light coming from under the door labelled "Staff Kitchen – No Entry" provides Hermann with a pretty good idea of his friend's whereabouts. Where else would he be.

Sure enough, upon slowly pushing open the – supposed to be locked – door, Hermann is presented with some information his brain needs a while to process – and they all have to do with Newton.

First of all, Newton is indeed in the kitchen. Secondly, his whole back is covered in a depiction of what can only be Trespasser. Thirdly, the reason for why Hermann is able to see the tattoo is that, unlike himself, Newton's gown is one of those tied on the back. Which, in Newton's case, is, well, _not _the case. And fourthly, Newton seems to be raiding the fridge for blancmange.

For some reason, Hermann's brain seems to focus on the third observation mostly. The colourful swirls on Newton's back appear greyish in the fridge light, but Hermann is sure that they are just as vibrant as the one's on his arms and chest (not that Hermann looks at Newton in the showers, thank you very much, he's not a creep. That's just... things he notices from the corners of his eyes.)

Over the course of time, they have seen their fair share of each other in varying states of clothing, but something about this is different now. Newton looks more vulnerable, in a hospital gown and connected to an IV drip, too. His bare back and legs are not something he counted on showing to anyone this time, it's a strangely intimate view for Hermann.

Before he can dwell on these thoughts, he clears his throat – intending to say something reprimanding - and asks: "Where did you get underwear from?"

That is obviously the question neither Hermann nor Newton expected to ask or hear respectively (Newton jumps like a frightened bunny and almost drops his precious food).

"Jesus, dude, give a guy a heart attack!"

As usual, Newton is too high-pitched and loud and Hermann quickly shuts the door behind himself. "Shush, you imbecile! And leave the histrionics, right now you're at the place most fitting to have a heart attack at. Although by now I suspect you're rather resilient to threats to your life."

"That's me, indestructible." Newton grins lopsidedly; apparently ignoring the reprimands and insults with which Hermann's little speech was laced. "Well, almost, at least."

And now that Hermann sees him from the front, even though still only illuminated by the light of the fridge, he notices the damage done to Newton. The biologist's left arm is tightly wrapped in bandages and pressed to his chest, resting in a loop around his neck, while the IV drip is connected to his right hand. A few tiny cuts are sprinkled over his face he holds himself just as tenderly as Hermann does. The bruises might not be visible under all the colour, but they are definitely there.

"I'm sure a lot of people tried," Hermann replies drily, shuffling closer.

"Not as many as you think and definitely no one tried as often as you do," Newton quips and then holds out the small bowl in his right hand. "Want some?"

"I did not try to kill you." Hermann looks thoughtful, then adds: "This time."

"A-ha! So you admit it. I have to record this," Newton exclaims, grinning triumphantly, but Hermann immediately deadpans: "You don't have enough arms."

Newton glares at his arm-in-the-sling before shrugging and consequently wincing. Then his eyes widen and he stares at Hermann for a moment before going back to grinning even broader than before. "Why did you ask where I got underwear from? Completely ignoring the fact that you've been checking out my bum, obviously?"

"I did not-" Hermann splutters, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks. "That's absurd. I wasn't... doing that."

But Newton already looks like the cat that got the cream, his eyes slits and his grin turning impish. "You are naked, aren't you?"

Hermann straightens his back. "I'm clearly wearing a gown," he says primly.

Newton simply starts cackling and he has to put down the bowl of blancmange because his body is shaking with laughter. There are tears running down his cheeks while he laughs and laughs and gasps for breath. Hermann simply colours a deep crimson and alternates between wishing to be swallowed by the ground and fantasizing about killing his friend.

"You- you- aaah- you're-" Newton tries to articulate something, but can't between fits of giggles. That doesn't stop him from trying until he manages a half-way intelligible "You're totally naked!"

"Newton..."

"Naked like the day you were born!"

"Newton."

"Are you feeling a soft breeze at your butt?"

"_Newton."_

"Sorry Herms-"

"Don't call me that."

"- it's just too good," Newton giggles and by now his face is almost as red as Hermann's, although for a different reason.

"Glad to be of amusement," Hermann grumbles and turns to leave (careful as not to create a draft that might reveal some of his backside).

"Hey, wait up," Newton calls after him, doing his best to sober up and become earnest again (which, in his case, doesn't change much altogether). "We can eat this-" he taps a spoon against the bowl on the counter. "- because we totally deserve this. It's like an adventure." In an afterthought, he adds: "Only with less danger or daring swordfights."

Hermann scoffs, makes sure his face shows no amusement at all (not difficult, considering the shame is still tinting his cheeks pink), but does turn around to quirk an eyebrow at his colleague. "When did you ever partake in a swordfight anyway?"

"Never. But the chain sword Mako and you put into Gypsy Danger... she's a beauty. And it gave me some ideas-"

"The day someone will trust you with a sword shall indeed be a doomed one," Hermann predicts gloomily, but can't help but feel proud of that particular idea of Mako. And then, as always, a small pang of regret when he thinks of the girl that will one day get to pilot that Jaeger. Marshal Pentecost hasn't said anything about that, of course, and right now, Gypsy is only being restored, far from being ready to be piloted. But still. Hermann just knows that Mako will control that Jaeger one day. And although he is happy for her like he rarely is happy for anyone – let alone himself – there is always the deep, burning desire in him to be up there, too.

These are not thoughts for now, though, and – back to topic – Hermann, within minutes, is so deep into an argument with Newton about why exactly it would be the worst possible idea to trust the biologist with a sword, that he completely forgets about his state of dress and soon enough, they sit at a small table, IV drips next to them, bowl of blancmange in the middle and they argue the hell out of each other while they eat and the night passes.

Apparently, Hermann Gottlieb can sit around starkers, eat pudding with Newton and not give a single fuck.

(And if their bare legs brush under the table whenever one of them rearranges himself, it's completely accidental and they are both absolutely not enjoying the feeling.)


	5. A New Hope

**November 2023**

Finally, another Kaiju attacks. The beast manages to cross the Miracle Mile in the Celebes Sea and is raging in Manado, Indonesia for three hours before Crimson Typhoon can take it down. Hermann immediately resumes his equations after realizing that, if the Kaiju had kept their pattern, he would have been right about predicting this one.

Newt, on the other hand, is in a distinctly worse mood, because he simply can't get his hands on any of the body parts. There's not much use in complaining, though, because the world turns against the PPDC pretty quickly after the initial shock of having the Kaiju back subsides.

The Manado government immediately sends for the leaders of the Wall-of-Life project and within a week after the attack on the city, work on a Wall there begins.

Hermann doesn't let it pull him down again, though, like Newt expects for a while. It's like with the new Kaiju his colleague's spirits have returned – the glint of rebellion and determination lights up his eyes and he's calculating and designing with new energy, more frantic than he has before.

Newt wholly approves of this. Hermann doubting himself has come as a big shock to him. Hermann is the most brilliant person he knows (aside from himself) – not that he's going to tell him that to his face – but he sometimes seems like he doesn't even realize that which is a shame, really.

Newt has never been one to be overly pessimistic about things – he knows he's a genius, doesn't need the six doctorates to prove it (the last two were basically him being a bit of a show-off, it's not like he needed them, but anyway-) and what if he rubs people the wrong way? He's kind of short, and kind of screechy but he's also been part of a freaking band and he's got these awesome tattoos and he gets to work with the Kaiju of all things – not to mention being the foremost expert on them! Really, he's living the life of a rock star already. Now he only needs the world to see that.

Hermann, on the other hand, has pessimist written all over his face, even when he occasionally shows excitement at the prospect of winning this war against the monsters.

But as annoying as Hermann is most of the time, and as old and sort of weird his clothes are – and as much as he clashes with Newt at every possible waking moment – he is also Newt's friend, so he doesn't get to be depressed. Not if Newt can change that. And really, it's not fair that Hermann has to suffer under this dickhead of a father.

Newt doesn't mind spending time with Hermann, enjoys it in fact, and he even likes looking out for the older man because it kind of makes him feel important; plus, he's gotten kind of used and fond of Hermann like one would be fond of an old plush toy. And Hermann is just a cool dude at the end of the day. (Again, not that Newt is going to tell him that.)

So it makes Newt happy seeing Hermann back in his groove – all the nagging doubts gone – even if that means humanity is, once again, tormented by the Kaiju.

(The crush he still harbours has absolutely nothing to do with him being happy for Hermann – much – and Newt mostly tries to ignore it because they really don't have the time and Hermann is married and even if he wasn't, he wouldn't be interested because he's interested in nothing but numbers. So Newt observes – very unbiased – how nice Hermann's face looks when he's delighted about one of his theories and absolutely does not fantasize about kissing him a little bit. Or a lot.)

X

"Miss Mori, sit in between those two," Hermann directs coolly (ignoring Mako's protest of "Mako, please"), while Tendo moves to sit between the other half of the Wei triplets. They glare at Hermann for a moment, but neither of them protests while Mako situates herself between Hu and Jin. Tendo, between Jin and Cheung, smirks and leans back in his chair, demanding: "Newt, you have to sit somewhere else, too!"

As far as Hermann knows, Newton – barely - represses the urge to stick out his tongue at Tendo and instead crosses his arms. "Why? It's not like we've been Drifting or anything. I can't read his mind and cheat!"

The last part was clearly aimed at the triplets and Cheung quirks an eyebrow. "We don't cheat. We are simply better than you."

Hermann actually believes Newton's theory – it's not like it isn't obvious. The triplets are so in sync that Hermann actually thinks it possible they are, to some degree, linked in their minds even when they're not piloting a Jaeger. (Words like ghost-drifting, residue and the like pop up in his head, but it has never really been his field of research.) Unlike Newton, though, he doesn't voice that thought. Sometimes it's better to remain silent – not that his friend has yet proven to grasp that concept.

"Yeah, but he totally helps you not mess up in the first round, so you two need to be separated."

"He does not!" Newton protests, at the same time as Hermann resolutely states: "I absolutely don't."

(He absolutely does, though, because Newton is an extremely sore loser and if Hermann doesn't help him, he'll mope for days. So, maybe Hermann sometimes plays cards that help Newton, or he purposely doesn't play cards to reach the same effect. Not that Newton knows that. For being a genius, he can be remarkably obvious.)

The protest doesn't help, though, and after a bit of shuffling, they are mixed up enough for everyone to believe it's going to be fair.

Hu now has Hermann to his right, followed by Mako and Jin, who is, in turn sitting next to Tendo, Cheung and finally Newton. In theory, the order should allow for a fair game.

But Mako, as the only girl, feels compelled to stand her man – or rather, woman – and Tendo has always had a quick hand at gambling. He plays smoothly, without drawing attention to himself, but somehow he always ends up with the best cards. The triplets, even with sitting apart, are still too much of an entity to be seen as single players and make the best of their given cards. Years of being street fighters, looking out for each other, have made them almost impossible to eliminate one after the other. Hermann plays with his confidence in probability and numbers, which helps him predict who is going to do what based on which cards they have. And even Newton, who simply plays in whatever way he wants to, without tactics – or much knowledge of the rules of whatever they are playing – is not to be underestimated, simply because he is unpredictable.

At least with this group, there is no stripping involved. Hermann vividly remembers a night earlier this year when the Kaidanovskys had joined in on poker night and quickly turned it into a round of strip poker. The Weis – as usual when the Russians are around – hadn't been there, but Tendo and Newton had been and they, just like Hermann, had ultimately been too intimidated to discuss that with Sasha and Aleksis.

One fear of the three men not married to Sasha had been her husband and his violence towards anyone who might look at his wife the wrong way – Tendo had nervously fiddled with his rosary and sent a quick text out to Alison, probably telling her one last time that he loved her, while Newton had been even more fidgety than usual and had blinked so often Hermann had seriously considered taping his eyelids to his skull.

Turned out, though, that that fear was completely unwarranted. Sasha played so cunningly that the four men ended up in their pants and undershirts (Tendo for some ridiculous reason still wearing his bowtie) by the time she mercifully declared the game over for good. The only article of clothing she had lost had been boots and socks.

X

So, yes, at least this time around, everyone is remaining fully dressed, although it is probably the most twisted, cheated-on card game they have ever played. They're not calling each other out on it much, instead revelling in the chance to try and one-up each other and even Hermann, who usually stands by his opinion that rules are there for a reason, enjoys himself immensely in trying to come up with ways to predict what exactly is going to happen each round.

The Weis end up winning most of their games and although they haven't been playing for money, they make Hermann agree on taking a look at Crimson Typhoons blueprints. Usually, they are very picky with whom they let work on their Jaeger, but Hermann, due to his vast knowledge and abilities, is well-liked by them.

Newt supposes it's also because they are sort of calm, or well, just plain silent people and match Hermann's need for that, but hey – who cares? Let them be Hermits United if they want to. (And oh God, how did he miss Hermit as a nickname? He'll have to tell Hermann later!) Newt's already a weird sort of mascot for the Russians, so he doesn't need the approval of the Weis.

Plus, Mako and Tendo like him better. Probably.

It's not like this is a competition anyway. Just... if it was, he would totally be winning. And he still would be Hermann's friend, so Hermann wouldn't be alone and would, therefore, win, too. It's win-win. Ha.

X

**July 2024**  
By July, Hermann and Newt are barely functional anymore. The attacks, having rapidly increased in 2024, come so fast that there is simply no time to properly analyze one before the next one occurs. The Jaeger Program is dying out as fast as the last remaining Jaegers; Newt, Hermann and many others already renounce their salary because the Program needs every single bit it can get – and they are still facing extinction, so to speak.

First the Jaeger Program, then the rest of humanity.

(One especially memorable phone call from Dr. Lars Gottlieb to Dr. Hermann Gottlieb remains vividly imprinted in Newt's mind because the shouting match takes almost half an hour – subject of it being that Lars found out about Hermann working for free and asking him (in much more colourful ways) if he's out of his mind. Newt doesn't dare to go near Hermann afterwards, but doodles a quick and very colourful sketch involving Lars, two Kaiju and tennis bats which he leaves near Hermann's work desk. Hermann doesn't comment on it, but Newt sees him grin slightly when he moves past his desk and finds it.)

Newt is being sent to Los Angeles to grovel before possible investors and beg for money, to prove that they are still achieving results, that they are still working on a way to finally end the Kaiju problem for once and forever. Unfortunately he's sent to LA when 2400 tons of spikes and claws, dubbed Insurrector, rise from the Breach and target America.

Mammoth Apostle rises to the challenge, but is not fit to fight the beast alone, which is unfortunate for Newt. Because _Newt_ is at the Channel Islands National Park, trying to convince some very rich people to invest in the Jaeger Program when the gigantic Jaeger is being carried over their heads, deployed to stop Insurrector.

Most people are unsure what the sudden commotion means, but a quick check of his phone over the emergency network Tendo has going confirms that there is a Kaiju heading for Los Angeles. Evacuation begins almost immediately then, but unfortunately the fight takes Jaeger and monster close to the island – much faster than most people expect.

They never actually see the Kaiju, because at first the electricity dies and then something gigantic hits the building they're in and it starts to collapse.

Newt doesn't remember much of that – he remembers being panicked, screaming like everyone else, and then dust and dirt and... silence. Eerie silence.

It's a wonder his phone is still working, and with shaking fingers, he thumps for the only person he can right now think of calling. He answers almost immediately.

"Newton! Where are you? Are you evacuated?"

"H-" Newt starts, but gets a lung full of dust and has to cough several times before he is able to properly form a sentence. "Hermann, I'm- no, we didn't- we're still on the island. Something- something hit the building and it collapsed but I think most people are fine and- shit, Hermann the _building collapsed_ what am I gonna- what am I supposed to do, should I just-"

"Newton, stop babbling!" Hermann's voice cuts through the speaker and Newt almost swallows his tongue in his haste to shut up. After a couple of seconds he realizes that this was a good idea, because he can finally breathe and it helps clearing his head.

"Are you still there?"

"I- yes. Yes. Still here. 'M fine."

"The Kaiju was heading for San Nicolas Island when Mammoth Apostle intervened. Now it's off course, heading north. One of Mammoth Apostle's missiles misfired, LOCCENT thinks it might have hit you," the mathematician explains hastily.

"They're shooting with missiles on us?! That's- oh wow, _awesome_. Not enough that I'm stuck here with a couple of snobs, no, now we're being _shot_ at-" His voice nearly cracking and a couple of people around him groan. Newt's not sure whether that's a response to what he's saying or if they're in pain but at least they are alive.

"No one is shooting at you, shut up," Hermann hisses and Newt is in pain and almost shitting his pants because this is so not cool, but it's oddly comforting to be the target of Hermann's disdain. "You're not hurt, are you? Concussed, maybe?" He then asks and, almost like in an afterthought, adds: "Might explain a lot about your behaviour."

"Nah, just scratches and-" Newt tries very hard not to be panicky but then something rumbles and the debris over his head shifts, sending more dirt down on him. "I really don't want to die. Do you think I'm going to die?"

"Probably not." Hermann doesn't exactly sound sure.

"Oh wow, that- _that_ is helpful! _So_ helpful, thanks, buddy."

Hermann scoffs. "Please, you wouldn't do all of us _that_ favour."

And that makes Newt angry, and a tiny part of him realizes that this is what Hermann tries to give him – comfort, normalcy, _distraction_ – and so he hisses back something, and then Hermann argues back and for a small moment, he forgets about being panicky.

"Well, you should-" Hermann suddenly stops himself mid-sentence and then says, more seriously: "Striker Eureka has entered the fight. They're..." he lets out a relieved sigh. "They're winning."

"I- that's good. Best news I've heard all day, actually." Newt's voice isn't shaking that much anymore. "Maybe we should... hang up now. They're probably coming to get us soon."

"Yes, most likely. You_ are_ alright, aren't you?"

And Newt draws a shaky breath and tries to wipe away a bit of grime from his glasses before he says: "Yeah. Thanks for, uh-"

"No matter. Now, hurry up and come back here." Hermann suddenly sounds... delighted. "I have a plan."

Newt agrees and then says "See you," before hanging up and leaning back until his head connects with the cool wall behind him. All he can think of his how not-cool this has been, and how worried Hermann had actually sounded and that he's absolutely goddamn thankful for having been able to phone him. And then he feels a tiny bit of remorse because he didn't even get to see Insurrector.

X

The backfired missile is the last straw that breaks the camel's back – or, rather, the trust of possible investors. Now that the Jaegers are apparently even more dangerous than the Kaiju, the Jaeger Program's reputation sinks even further than anyone thought it possible.

(When Mammoth Apostle falls in Kuching later this year, there are even a couple of people who celebrate that. Weird fuckers, but rich and influential. Newt, for a long time, feels like vomiting.)

But then again, once he returns (and Hermann actually sort of rest his hand on his shoulder for a moment – before yelling at him), he is surprised to find his lab mate more than just a little excited.

Tendo Choi, Marshal Pentecost and Hermann all sit around a 3D-model in the lab and Newt watches in awe – and more than just a little bit distrust at the plan – how Hermann makes a model of the Breach explode.

"We're going to attack it," he explains, almost proudly, and for the longest time, no-one says a thing. Newt, naturally, is the first to break the silence.

He's only just come back from surviving being blown up (this time even without Hermann tinkering with plasma canons) and it could be that he's inhaled something bad for him or maybe he's the only sane person left in the room (which would probably be the first time), but whatever the reason for it, he says: "That's insane."

Before Hermann can argue back, Pentecost nods once, slowly and then drills his eyes into Hermann's, who visibly shrinks in his seat. "Yes, it's insane. But is it going to work?"

"Yes. I mean, I have to do some calculations first, but... in theory, yes."

"Do we still have the means to build a bomb large enough?" That question is directed at Tendo, who cocks his head, thinking.

"I think we do. And I still have some connections, and maybe if we get the other Shatterdomes to help-"

"We are essentially on our own," Pentecost cuts him off. (Neither of them besides him know at that time that soon they will be the last remaining Shatterdome.)

Tendo only hesitates for a moment then, before he confirms with a grim face: "We can do it, Sir."

"But-" Newt starts and, too, is cut off by the Marshal.

"Dr. Geiszler, I expect you will assist Dr. Gottlieb in the necessary research on Operation Pitfall?"

"_That's_ what we're calling it? I don't-"

"Dr. Geiszler, have I made myself clear?"

The look on Pentecost's face makes Newt shut up for good and he simply nods.

Long after Tendo and the Marshal have left, and Hermann has silently returned to his work, clearly dismayed that Newt is not supporting his- his crazy plan of bombing a fissure in space (and possibly time), Newt finds himself sitting on the small sofa, thinking that as admirable this last uproar, this plan of offense is, it's not going to work. Because they don't understand the Kaiju yet.

If only they understood them...

X

**September 2024**

September brings the fall of the last of another five Kaiju, struggles in funding, a lot of lab equipment taken away, final plans to shut down all of the Shatterdomes except for Hong Kong – and a new life.

Namely that of the child Vanessa Gottlieb is carrying.

Hermann isn't even the first to hear that news, it's actually Newton. While Hermann is busy with his chalkboard, his partner harasses him about one file or the other until he roughly sends him over to the computer with a couple of passwords and the advice to go and look for it himself, Hermann is not Google after all.

"You can't even find those classified files with Google," Newton mutters under his breath, but obediently stops harassing him and moves over to sit in front of the screen, slowly making his way through Hermann's – perfectly logical system of orderly – files.

"You can't find shit here," he calls over after a while and Hermann viciously calls back: "Yes, because excrements are more your area of work!"

"Yes well-" a quiet 'bing' interrupts Newton and he goes silent for a moment. Hermann shakes his head, ready to return to his equations when he suddenly hears: "Uh, Hermann, I think you should come here for a second."

"Oh for God's sake-" he glares over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"No, you really, really should come here. There's, uh, an email from your wife."

Hermann rolls his eyes and then climbs down his ladder, realizing that the 'bing' must have been the email popping up on the screen since someone was actively using the computer. Grabbing his cane, he makes his way over, admittedly a bit curious why Newton sounds like that (and equal parts annoyed because he must have read at least part of the message or otherwise he wouldn't have sounded so alarmed).

"I swear I didn't mean to read your personal things but in my defence- it says it right here in the reference line thingy and- just, read it, okay?" Newton, at his best times, is barely coherent, and now his voice even goes up in pitch, like usual when he's excited, or alarmed, or happy or... simply awake, basically.

Hermann sighs deeply before sitting down in a swivel chair and leaning forward to read the email. His fingers clench to fists when he reads the reference line, but he keeps on reading until he's finished.

Then, he's silent. For too long, apparently, because Newton sort of nudges him finally and says, with a small grin: "So?"

"So what?" Hermann is proud to say that his voice doesn't show the thoughts whirling around in his head at a rapid pace.

"Aw, don't be like that! I read what this is about! Spill!"

Hermann glares, but knowing that Newton will never let go of the topic otherwise, he curtly says: "Vanessa is pregnant. You read that, there is nothing much beside that, except a few notes from her first doctor's appointment."

Obviously that answer is not enough for his friend, who looks at him like he doesn't make sense. (Ridiculous, really, because what is there that can possibly not make sense?!) Newton, fortunately (or less fortunately, depending on who you ask), has no qualms about voicing what is bugging him about Hermann's response.

"Hello?! You- you're having a baby! That's... _awesome_, dude! Show some happiness man! When's the little Hermunkulus due? Or is it a... uh, Hermione?"

"No matter its sex, it will most certainly not be called either. And, as always, you were not listening. _Vanessa_ is having a baby."

"Dude, I know you can't-" Newt starts, but stops in his tracks at the pointed, stoic look on Hermann's face. Then, the implication of his words finally seeps through. "Oh."

X

What does one say in such a situation? 'I'm sorry your wife is a cheating bitch'? Newt settles for: "Are you, uh, sure?"

Hermann smiles cheerless. "I am. I'm good with numbers, after all."

"Yeah but- that's not Kaiju. Or an alien bridge into our universe. It's... humans. You're not good with humans," Newton tries helplessly. He hates seeing Hermann so cold and lacking emotion – right now, even hatred would be better than this calm shell. He's never seen his partner like that and it frightens him. Why is Hermann so freaking calm?!

"Do you remember me not being in this laboratory or my room in the last two years?"

"I-" No. No, Newt doesn't.

"No, you don't. We have had the unfortunate luck of being stuck with each other for years," Hermann answers for him, and the attempt at usual annoyance and teasing lifts the weight off of Newt a tiny bit.

"So... what now?" Newt asks, eyeing Hermann carefully. A teenage Newt would have written a song about being cheated on - between getting his second PhD and trying to convince the dentist to finally take out the braces because his teeth looked fine now, for God's sake! – but something tells him that's not the way Hermann deals with that sort of news.

"I expect I will receive the divorce papers soon. It shouldn't take too much time, after all we agreed on this over four years ago."

Wait – what?

Hermann releases a deep suffering sigh – sounding more and more like his usual self – before he takes a sip of his tea that has been sitting on the table since midday and is definitely cold by now. "Look, since you are physically unable to restrain yourself from sticking your nose into other people's business, you might as well hear the whole story before your mind goes its usually disturbing ways and creates a completely absurd scenario that involves me, ridiculous nicknames and quite possible one or two of your horrid, beloved Kaiju."

"Don't forget the super spies," Newt adds with a grin, but flops down in a chair across Hermann, looking for all the world as if it's story time in nursery school and not the middle of the night in a underground K-Science lab in the Hong Kong Shatterdome.

X

"Vanessa is a smart woman. She always knew that my position made family life impossible-" not to mention is general dislike of spending too much time around people "-so we both agreed on a divorce should the time call for one."

"That doesn't sound very romantic," Newton observes with a frown.

"I feel deep respect for Vanessa and I admire her intellect," Hermann tells him primly. It's not love, not more than a certain adoration and possibly platonic love you feel for someone very dear to you – but it has never been about love in the first place.

"She's also smokin' hot, dude," comes the helpful interjection from Newton and Hermann glares at him. He remains unfazed. "What? She's a model, isn't she? Saw her on some of the propaganda posters, I think. Looks a bit Latina and a bit Thai? Strange combination but totally awesome?"

Hermann supposes 'strange but totally awesome' might be one way to put it. There are, of course, people all over the world who use more rude words. 'Mutt' being one of the nicest. Apparently even in a world where it's humanity against monsters, racism still has a place.

"Her unconventional looks made it hard for her to be accepted in the business, just as my... being me made it hard for me to be accepted in her ranks. We came to an agreement."

"And now she's breaking it by cheating on you with some random guy?" Newton looks almost enraged, which throws Hermann off quite a bit. His lab partner does have the emotional range of a small typhoon, but usually his indignation is directed _at_ Hermann, not building a protective wall _around_ him.

"Use your brain," Hermann scoffs instead of focusing of Newton's newly found protectiveness. "When we joined the PPDC – and now that we're part of what is called the Resistance - my father was not the only one disapproving of it. As a propaganda model, being married to a man actively working for the Resistance, undermining the credibility of those building the Wall with every breath, how long do you think she will remain in her job or the good books of the people willing to employ and support her?"

"So... she got pregnant to have a reason to get a divorce?"

"So we _both_ have a reason. And-" Hermann thinks of his wife proudly, "because it will cause an uproar. If the two of us are willing to split up over a fight about what is right, the Wall or the Resistance, even though she is bearing 'my' child, then maybe some people will regain their faith in the Resistance, because obviously our cause has to be worth something if I'm willing to 'give up my family' for it. I know I can find a way to predict the perfect time for an attack on the Breach. I know the solution is out there, and I will find it. It's the right thing," he finishes heatedly. Being passionate about something only ever happens when his life work is concerned and now, afterwards, he feels a bit ashamed about his surge of emotion, but the sparkle in Newton's eyes tells him he has nothing to worry about.

"Dude." Newton pauses, and then raises his cup of coffee. After a moment of hesitation, Hermann lifts his mug, too and feels the vibration of Newton's mug clinking against his through his arm. "You are like an evil genius. And Vanessa, too. Man, she's awesome. I wish I could meet her."

"Maybe after we close the Breach."

Newton grins. "Yeah, let's do that first."

Hermann, tentatively, grins back.

X

**December 2024**

The Shatterdomes all around the world close, and literally the weight of everyone lasts on Hermann's and his shoulders, but Newt can't focus on that properly. Obviously, he puts every waking moment into getting the hang of the Kaiju but –

Something has been nagging at him every since Hermann told him the story of him and Vanessa. The plan. The baby. The divorce.

And because Newt can't stand it any longer, and they're working on Christmas Eve and that's just a tiny bit sad (and subtle has never been his forte), he finally blurts out: "So, if you're getting a divorce, that means you can date people now, right?"

It's out of context, which is clearly indicated by Hermann's disturbed look. Finally, he says: "I don't 'date'." He makes it sound like other people would say 'I don't eat garbage'.

"No, yeah, I mean, I get it, not before- but, like, if someone asked you out, you could date them."

"I couldn't possibly, because we're this close to putting an end to all this-" Hermann vaguely gestures towards the projection of the Breach flickering in the back of the lab, "-and besides, who would ask me out anyway?"

Newt is pretty sure that Hermann means this in a 'everyone-is-busy-and-the-world-is-losing-a-war' way, because even if he did think that low of himself, he certainly wouldn't go and say that to Newt.

"I don't mean right now. But, like, after we kicked those Kaiju's asses."

Hermann gives him a weird look. "What _is_ it that is going on in your head? Shouldn't you be cutting up something? Or at least be quiet, while I finish this and hopefully finally can predict the perfect time to bomb the Breach?" And then he's back to his equations and Newt just kind of sits there for a moment, definitely not staring at the mistle-toe branch picture someone printed out and scattered all over the Shatterdome. (You can't really get the actual plants anywhere at a time like this.) Newt took one with him and now it's lying there, like a sad reminder of how Newt's totally not going to get kissed.

(He debated simply sticking it over the door to the lab but the only people showing up there lately have been Mako, Tendo, Aleksis Kaidanovsky, Herc Hansen and Marshal Pentecost and Newt – for various reasons – doesn't really want to kiss either of them.)

Of course Hermann eventually catches him staring and asks about the print, but Newt mumbles something about it being a biologist-thing and Hermann, with another weird glance, lets it go.

It's only when they walk back to their rooms that night that Newt tells his – very kissable, very ignorant, very brilliant – friend: "Merry Christmas, Hermann."

Hermann does make a face – he's not very fond of any form of holiday, how Newt has come to know over the years – but nods and replies: "You too." When he turns to enter his dorm, he freezes and Newt notices what has made his mate stop in his tracks. Someone put one of the mistle-toe prints on his door frame. (Something about this screams Tendo.) Hermann looks over his back, suspiciously glaring at Newt.

"You had one of those earlier today. That's ridiculous, even for you. What exactly is it you want to achieve with that?"

Newt puts his hands up. "Hey, I've nothing to do with that!" And after a moment he sullenly adds: "But generally what one wants to achieve with that is people kissing each other."

"Well I'm not going to kiss anyone," Hermann declares, "much less you. You had a tuna sandwich earlier."

"Wait, so if I go brush my teeth real quick, you'd kiss me?" Newt asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and definitely not trying to look as eager as he actually is.

"Shut up, Newton," his lab mate says, shaking his head slightly and then unlocks his door.

"Night, Hermann."

"Good night, Newton."

Newt thinks that this conversation has been _interesting._


	6. Getting The D(rift)

**2024/2025**

Fireworks over Hong Kong. Newt loves them – they are loud and flashy and therefore an explosive embodiment of himself. Plus, they light up Hermann's miserable face, painting it red, green, blue and gold and making it a little less miserable.

Technically, it's not even the Chinese New Year, but for the last couple of years, Hong Kong has always celebrated the turn of the Western calendar year and as it is the case with most their celebrations, it's spectacular.

Everyone who is able to has come up on the helicopter platform, guarded against the wind (although no-one looks as ridiculous as Hermann does in his oversized coat) and except for the K-Watch people in LOCCENT and the standard emergency crew, everyone has come out and the crowd is fairly large.

Newt spots the Kaidanovskys, both grim-faced, with their Jaeger Crew around them. Aleksis has his arm around Sasha, but they both face upwards. Standing further away from the Russians are the Chinese, their red overalls a sea of blood under the flashes of light and bursts of explosives.

Pentecost, Herc Hansen and Mako form a small group in the back and it takes Newt a while to locate Chuck Hansen. He finally finds him propped up against a wall with Max in his arms, looking for all the world as if he's only caring about the poor dog who is clearly suffering under the fireworks. Newt catches him looking up from time to time, though.

Tendo suddenly pops up to Newt's left, having vacated his seat in LOCCENT. "Didn't think you two would come out of your lab!" he yells over the noise of the fireworks and general celebration.

"Someone apparently hasn't seen enough explosions in his life," Hermann replies drily and Newt elbows him slightly.

"It's just fireworks! And don't pretend you don't enjoy them!"

"If you two don't stop fighting for at least until the clock strikes twelve, I'm going to kiss you both to shut you up," Tendo threatens with a smirk and bumps his fist into Newt's when the biologist grins and offers it to him.

(Hermann simply rolls his eyes and Newt can't decide if the red on his cheeks is just from the flickering lights overhead or a blush. Either way it's adorable and Hermann has no right to be adorable because he's stuffy and old – well, only one year older but whatever – and grumpy.)

And then someone starts counting down and Newt shouts along with all the others until the night-sky actually explodes in cascades of light and cheers erupt all over the platform and, carried by the wind, from the city.

Tendo is on the phone to Alison, Pentecost puts an arm on Mako's shoulder, the Kaidanovskys exchange sharky grins and for a completely ridiculous moment Newt feels the urge to kiss somebody (and actually it's not just a random somebody but a very special somebody) and gives Hermann a glance form the corners of his eyes. To his surprise, Hermann is looking at him, too. However, what he says is not exactly what Newt wants to hear. "If you want your kiss, you have to wait until Mr. Choi is finished on the phone."

Newt chooses to ignore his slight disappointment and instead answers: "Yeah, dude, I probably won't kiss him, cuz he might end up divorcing Ali and wants to live happily ever after with me."

"Confident in your abilities then, Dr. Geiszler?" Hermann mocks, quirking one eyebrow and Newt puts on his best let's-do-science face.

"Actually, that's scientifically backed up, Dr. Gottlieb."

Shaking his head, Hermann says: "I don't know what that says of me, but I am actually tempted to believe you."

This would be the perfect moment to say a cheesy pick-up line. Like... _I'll prove it if you want?_ Or _Let's experiment some more... together._

But the world is in ruins and Operation Pitfall is looming over their heads, so this is most definitely not the moment to do anything kissing related. (Though, if they die, Newt will never have done it and that would suck, too, so maybe he just should-)

He takes too long to answer, and Herman gives him a strange look. And so Newt grins and says: "It means you bow to my genius," and then they stop their conversation, because over all the noise, it's more of a yelling match anyway.

Newt, not for the first time, thinks that things must be so much easier when you've been Drifting together, when you just know what the other person thinks, when it's not so freaking complicated and strange because your best friend doesn't notice you're flirting and you're shit at flirting anyway and things are more complicated than is generally healthy. Drifting... must be wonderful.

X

Newt and Hermann skid through the sloshing rain, trying to keep the parts of Mutavore safe – and Hermann is probably right, the transport guys could handle this by themselves, neither of them has to be outside now, except that these are the latest parts, they are exciting and, man, Mutavore! – so Newt definitely has to be here.

Honestly, _Hermann_ doesn't have to be here. Newt doesn't even want him here, really, because he's been in a shitty mood ever since New Year and the scribbling on the blackboard got more fervent by the minute until Newt announced he was going to go outside and keep an eye on the Kaiju parts and suddenly Hermann was beside him, in his stupid coat, with his shitty mood and all the criticism.

For a while, Newt thinks he can just ignore Hermann – the teasing him helps enormously in calming down (and besides, yes, Hermann, these are human beings LIKE ME why don't you say hello WHY DON'T YOU ACT NICE FOR ONCE – Newt only says half of that out loud). But then the Becket boy comments on his tattoos and it goes a bit rough with Pentecost and Hermann does the stupid military salute thing – they're scientists for God's sake – and Newt is ready to stab viciously at a bit of Kaiju.

Instead, he fights with Hermann for the better part of the next couple of days. The rest of the Shatterdome is equally anxious and ready to snap, what with Becket's memorable Kwoon session (which Newt watches late at night after hacking into the system because he was stuck in the lab before) and then of course the even more memorable failed test with Gypsy Danger.

Mako must be pretty down.

But sneaking up to her room and looking out for her is thwarted because Hermann seems to have had the same idea. Just when Newt sneaks closer to investigate what it is the coward has left on Mako's doorstep instead of knocking and talking to her like a normal human being, she opens said door and sees him.

"Hey," he greets her and she gives him the smallest of smiles before noticing the thing on the ground. She picks it up before giving Newt a questioning glance. "Is this from you?"

He makes a face. "No, Hermann dropped that and left. I think it's his twisted way of making sure you're okay. Are you? You look mostly okay, but you always do so it's kind of hard to tell."

Obviously unwilling to talk on the doorstep, she moves to the side to let him in and they sit at the small table, package from Hermann between them before she tells him: "I am fine. Raleigh has explained a lot of things about the Drift to me. I- we both made mistakes."

"How was it, though? Aside from the part where you both sort of messed it up?"

"It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. You don't really get an idea of it in the Academy. It's easier to just... _be_ when you are Drifting because you are one with your partner and things become easier. Decisions – you make them together," she explains and Newt has the feeling that is not at all what she wants to say, at least not all of it, but it seems just too much to put into words. "The others are angry and disappointed at us, though," she admits then, her eyes getting a sad look. Newt knows just how much she hates disappointing people in general – and Pentecost especially.

"Hey, if they're giving you a hard time, you can always stop by the lab? We can put soap on Hermann's chalkboard or eat all the pudding that's in the fridge," Newt suggests and nudges her awkwardly. (Despite what he says about Hermann, he himself is not exactly better at human interaction – too much time around Hermann and dead Kaiju, he supposes.)

"Raleigh is keeping me company and the others at bay," Mako explains and loses the sad expression in her eyes again. "But thank you for your offer. Now, let me see what's in this package..."

She carefully rips off the brown package paper and her eyes widen when she finds a notebook labelled 'H. Gottlieb' (seriously, what is it with Hermann and labelling things?). It takes Newt a while to understand what that is, and only when Mako carefully opens it on a random page, he recognizes it's... program codes, parts of blue prints, design ideas, information about weapons and basic data – shortly, everything Hermann has ever thought of concerning his life work: the Jaegers and the Breach.

"I- I can't accept this," Mako says after staring at it in awestruck silence for a while.

Newt clears his throat. "Yeah, yeah you can. That's like... that's the nicest thing he's ever done for anyone. Hold on to it, and when he's being an idiot again, we can use that to prove he's not that much of an idiot."

Mako protests weakly and chides him: "Don't talk like that about him," but is too wrapped up in the notes already, so Newt leaves her alone, his head filled with thoughts about almost-human-Hermann and... Drifting.

He goes back to the lab with the intention of being nice to Hermann, but then his lab mate tells him Pentecost is on his way and that he has struck scientific gold and from then on everything goes batshit crazy.

X

The first thing that goes through Hermann's head when his eyes fall on Newton is that he always looks like utter crap and yet manages to be the most admirable person Hermann's ever seen. Even with blood clouding one eye and running out of his nose, the unnatural paleness and the muscle twitches, Newton is amazing. (And irritating because he obviously had to do something stupid just to prove Hermann wrong and _God_, this man can be frustrating!)

Of course then worry takes over and Hermann rushes over there, as always when something happens to Newt feeling the tight lump in his stomach while his thoughts go like a prayer wheel: _Don't be dead Don't be dead Don't be dead._

Upon ripping off the squid cap – did he make that from scrap? Good Lord what a brilliant, stupid man – Hermann realizes what Newton's been doing and while it shouldn't be too much of a surprise, considering his determination, his anger on being told to shut up and all the fighting they've done the past few days, Hermann can't help but wonder _why_.

Why would Newt do something like this, and _alone_ on top of it? He must've realized that it was too much of a risk - there's a reason for two pilots, two people sharing the neural overload.

What if he never woke up? What if he does wake up but has his brain permanently damaged? The wonderful brain, the head full of thoughts that made Hermann notice him for real for the first time when 'Dr. Newton Geiszler' didn't have a face or a – overexcited, hyperactive – voice.

But of course Newton wakes up and apart from being even more nervous and shaky than usual he's not different on the outside. His brain runs faster than lightening and in his haste to get Hermann get Pentecost, he flails around too much.

And Hermann gives him angry looks and snaps at him but he has never felt more relieved than now that Newton doesn't seem too damaged (although he wonders, while hastening down the hallways as fast as he can, how much Newton took home from the Drift with the Kaiju. It can't have been pretty and if it wasn't for Newton's recklessness and the fact that it's his own fault, Hermann would pity the man who has shared his thoughts with a monster.)

X

Hermann feels numb when, in rapid succession, Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha fall. And then he remembers that Newton is out there, in the city through which Otachi is raging and the numb feeling is replaced by ice.

A small part of his brain is focusing on the fact that it was a double event, two Kaiju – two of them! But a larger part is busy with the recognition that this is just perfectly messed up – he and Newton have been stuck with each other for years, through good and bad times and now, just NOW, when it seems like the end of the world, Newton is on a mad hunt through a city that's currently being smashed to pieces by Gypsy Danger and Otachi.

For all Hermann knows, Newton and his big, stupid mouth have already ended up gutted in some side street of Kowloon by either Hannibal Chau or panicked Chinese fighting their ways into the bunkers in hope of finding safety there.

And then there's the third part of his brain that buries all these thoughts safely under a ton of grim indifference and concentration on the feed from Gypsy Danger and the helicopters following them. Hermann watches how Raleigh freezes Otachi's tail – Hermann is proud of both the Jaeger and the pilot -, how Mako pulls out the chainsword – and now Hermann's pride is even visible on his face for a moment – and then how the Jaeger plummets to Earth, at which point everyone in LOCCENT besides Pentecost freeze in helplessness.

Hermann, in his mind, already mourns for the loss of this second-to-last Jaeger and of Mako, but Pentecost remains cool and... they survive. Gypsy hits the ground, destroys the sports stadium and causes a small earthquake. But it's still in one piece, and the pilots are alive.

Also, someone else is alive.

When Hermann hears Newton's voice over the communication channel in LOCCENT, demanding equipment – "and an apology from someone because that Chau-dude is _completely_ mad!" – Hermann barely waits for Pentecost to finish his instructions until he dashes out of the room, to the lab and then towards the helicopters.

X

"You would do that? You would do that for me? I- I mean with me?"

Newton, for being a genius, manages to ask the dumbest questions. Hermann has just offered it, hasn't he? How much clearer can he be on this?

This... this is his chance to get as close as possible to being a pilot. He is going to Drift, with his partner, and they're going to-to- _to kick those Kaiju's asses_, how Newton would probably put it. They might have different reasons for this, Newton trying to learn about the monsters, Hermann doing the right thing because you need two people to Drift and who is going to do it with Newton anyway if not him (and who would Hermann even _want_ to Drift with Newton if not himself?)

His reasons might not be entirely selfless, but the surge of adrenaline he suddenly feels is washing through his brain, erasing the usual doubts and pessimism. He can do that, he can Drift and be a-

"We're going to be rock stars, dude," Newton says, his grin still disbelieving, and then he does the fist bump thing which Hermann will never, ever descend to doing, not even if someone paid him for it, and then it's time to show some backbone.

Newton has two squid caps and even hands Hermann the one that doesn't look quite as trashy as the other one before calibrating something on the make-shift monitors that are responsible for recording and analyzing the data output. Not long after, they're ready. All the copper pins are in place in the dead baby's brain, it's dark, cold and Hermann Gottlieb and Newton Geiszler prepare to Drift.

"Ready?" Newton asks, excitement and nervousness rapidly chasing each other in his voice.

"Oh, just get on with it," Hermann bites out from between clenched teeth and Newton starts the countdown.

"Initiate neural handshake in three, two, one-"

_This time it is Lake Como, not just the wanna-be resort, and he's swimming and the algae turn the water green and blue-_

_Water, green and blue like Newton's eyes, the first eyes he notices, no not the first. Hermann, your eyes, your eyes are not good-you need glasses, Hermann. You cannot become a pilot, pilots don't wear glasses-_

_Glasses breaking when the kid hits him. You're so weird Geiszler, can't sit still, always loud, why can't you be normal like the rest of us-_

_Gottliebs, all of us. Successful Hermann, you need to be successful. Look, Papa, look at the robot- Hermann, not now, Dietrich needs to prepare for his speech. _

_A speech Doctor Geiszler, a speech about how you aspired to be a doctor, so young, the Wunderkind, tell us Doctor Geiszler, what is your motivation? A rock star, dude, I want to be a rock star._

_Stars, Hermann, look at the stars. Karla, I'm not interested in stars, I want to build things and fly a plane. Maybe fly a rocket, to the stars. No Hermann look the stars are falling-_

_Falling, the Jaegers are falling like flies, the Kaiju beat them, Newton. Call me Newt Hermann, and the Jaegers can manage, this was only one-_

_One person who matters, one who matters in all of this. There is humanity but Hermann doesn't care about humanity, not when the world is ending and one person could die. You're sappy, Hermann, a romantic, what is wrong with you, be logic, numbers, Hermann, numbers are true-_

_Truth is there might be love, not just a crush, actual love and love is totally cool except it scares him, scares him more than Otachi. Beautiful Otachi, pregnant, the baby-_

_The baby connects them, shows them the Anteverse. __The Precursors_, the Breach- it's not going to work-

_It's not going to work-_

_**It's not going to work!**_

Hermann throws up into a conveniently discarded toilet and the view alone is enough to amuse Newt although he can't really laugh except that Hermann feels his amusement and has to grin involuntarily which is absolutely not advisable when one is just throwing up. They don't argue, though, because the plan to bomb the Breach is _not going to work_ and they have to tell Pentecost.

They hurry over to a helicopter and Hermann already climbs in while Newt is still yelling at the pilot and it takes way too long until they're airborne but when they are, they don't speak, their brains too full, working, running, racing against time.

X

Hermann feels Newton's wonder and awe at the prospect of Slattern, feels the shame accompanying this feeling because Pentecost and Chuck Hansen are sacrificing themselves and briefly Hermann wonders how a single human being can feel that much, the residue alone feels like too much – except that Newton is right next to him, sharing the load, instinctively shutting Hermann out as if he knows that Hermann can't take all of it.

Panic, racing heartbeats when there's a deadly silence after the sacrifice. Raleigh's and Mako's voices spluttering back into life. Slattern again. The Breach. Silence.

X

Joy. Hands around his neck. His face splitting into a grin. Newton. Joy. It's over. They've won. The Breach collapsed, Mako and Raleigh alive. Newton. Success. Feeling like a rock star.

Newton.

X

Hermann.

X

And now?

X

They don't find Sasha and all Newton can think of his how wrong it is for Aleksis to be buried by himself. Him and Sasha were Jaeger pilots, partners for life, and husband and wife on top of that. They were two parts of a whole and it's a goddamn shame they are not buried together.

Hermann, in a less crude way, thinks the same thing about the Wei triplets – only one of them, Jin, has been found in the dark waters of Hong Kong Harbour. His body, hidden by the Chinese flag, looks lonely and vulnerable, especially next to the tall Russian's.

A glance over to Newton tells Hermann how bad the younger man is taking it. People, emotions, social interaction – nothing of that is Hermann's forte, and he'd much rather be in front of his chalk board now, surrounding himself with the safety and reliability that are numbers. Instead, he's out in the grey morning light, rain whipping down mercilessly on enormous group of people that has come together to pay their respects to the fallen Jaeger Pilots. The remains of Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon are piled up in the distance, a memorial for everyone. And beyond that, halfway between the Boneslum and the once booming city, the remains of Otachi.

After a moment of consideration, Hermann clears his throat and nods towards the so different bodies lying next to each other. "They're an alliance now. Two pilots, as it is supposed to be. An unlike alliance, maybe, but that is not a bad thing."

And Newton, with the wind relentlessly pulling at his gravity-defying hair (although the rain does its best to slosh it down) gives him a small, crooked smile and bumps his shoulder into him. "Not bad at all."

X

The assessment that Drifting must be wonderful is the one assumption that Newt had completely wrong. He spends most asleep moments living through the horror of the Anteverse and the worst thing is that, scientifically speaking, he is intrigued by it, although the fear alone is enough to cause him to wake up shaking and feeling sick.

(There's also the panic he experiences when thinking back to facing Otachi, hurting, raging, Otachi which has been decidedly less awesome than he always imagined seeing a Kaiju up close would be. But the memories from the Drift are worse, so they mostly keep out these scary thoughts.)

But it's not just Anteverse horrors buzzing around Newt's head. It's also the essence of Hermann, rapidly living through his best friend's whole life, feeling, experiencing all of it. It only comes back now, part after part, like scattered wreck pieces of a destroyed ship washing up on the coast that is Newt's mind. There was no time to deal with all of it right after they'd Drifted, but now, with the world eerily silent and the Breach closed, there is all the time he'll ever need.

Apparently they are not going to talk about this, about any of this, which is driving Newt slightly crazy.

They're not going to talk about how messed up Hermann's hip really is, how it hurts when he's walking, how it hurts when he wakes up in the mornings and how he sometimes lies in bed for minutes simply willing the pain down. Nerve damage, the words echo through Newt's mind, a memory of when Hermann heard them first. Femoral nerve permanently damaged. Trying carefully to coax some relaxation into hip and leg through massages, which sometimes work but more often doesn't. Not showing it because there's no time for that nonsense.

They're also not going to talk about the nightmares, every other night, from being trapped in the car, metal coming down on Hermann.

(Newt almost expected those to be there – hell, even he has nightmares about Otachi at the moment and he thought she was awesome! He can only imagine – no, wait, now he actually knows! – how Hermann must feel with the memory of Yamarashi almost squeezing him to death in a tiny car. Strange enough, there are no nightmares about the time the plasma cannon went off or about that time when they were outside in the thunderstorm, almost getting hit by a chunk of exploded tanker.)

They're not going to talk about how deeply affected Hermann is by the death of the Kaidanovskys, and of Marshal Pentecost and the Weis. How he keeps thinking that maybe if the predictive model had worked better, if the Jaegers had been better equipped it might have made a difference.

And they're not going to talk about how Hermann feels – the thought alone brings out like twelve nervous tics of Newt at once, gets him worked up in a frenzy until he simply can't keep lying in his bed, in the room across Hermann's, and pretend not to have Drifted with him and not to know all this stuff.

Newt's almost out the door when he realizes that he is a) only wearing boxers and a t-shirt, which is definitely not the attire to face Hermann – battle armour might be more sensible, and b) that if Hermann wanted to talk about any of this, he would've said so. He's the sort of annoying person to talk about the strangest things at exactly the time you don't count on it at all. (Except not about feelings because Hermann doesn't talk about feelings, much less even deals with them on his own.)

So Newt closes the door again and starts pacing in his small room.

He's going to freak out if he doesn't get to talk about all this but even he realizes that this is not something to discuss with Tendo or any of his acquaintances at the Shatterdome and Sasha and Aleksis are dead and-

The realization that his two favourite pilots are dead only then fully hits Newt. He slumps down on the floor, back against his bed and tries to stop his hands from trembling. It appears he's not good at dealing with loss – or the belated reaction of realizing he's lost somebody. He's never lost anyone before, can't even remember his grandparents (or them dying) so this is literally the first time he has to deal with losing someone important to him. It sort of sucks really badly.

The only person he could talk to (and that is not Hermann) would probably be Mako, but she's still dealing with losing her adopted father, and then there's the Raleigh situation, of course. Newt supposes he could also call his dad or Uncle Illia or maybe even his mother. But that's not how the Geiszler family works; they wouldn't understand it, not the way- not the way Hermann would. Does.

But Hermann is across the hall, in his room, and probably having a nightmare and most definitely unwilling to talk about anything and Newt is sitting on the floor in sleepwear and his untied boots, wondering if what he is experiencing is a panic attack. Might be one. Feels like one.

A shaky breath is followed by a shakier one-

And then there's a rapt knocking at the door, followed by Hermann's voice quietly calling out for him: "Newton?"

* * *

_"Hanna, why is almost all of the film parts from Hermann's POV?" – Easy, because we get Newt's in the movie/novel._  
_That being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you one last time soon :)_  
_Love, Hanna_


	7. Kisses For You & Me (And Not The Kaiju)

_**I chickened out of writing smut.** I'm sorry, but I tried and it was awful. So have lots of kissing instead, and dorks being in love._  
_Thank you for reading and favouriting/commenting. That was and still is appreciated._  
_Come find me on tumblr so we can freak out about K-Science-Boyfriends._  
_Lots of love,_  
_Hanna (hanna-notmontana)_

* * *

Newton opens the door and looks so heartbreakingly beautiful, tired and mussed and utterly exhausted – mentally as well as physically – that Hermann can't help but turn his eyes to the ceiling as to avoid breaking down. His mind is filled to the brim with the essence of Newton as it is and another dose of him proves to be too much; it's just that he can't really back away again now.

"Hermann?" Newton's voice, albeit high as usual, is scratchy and Hermann remembers clearly a time when that hasn't made any difference. Now, he feels about eight emotions at the same time, most of which are impossible to name. (Well, 'now' is the wrong word – these emotions have slowly crept in over the years, one after the other and ignoring them had turned out useless. If you ignored a pet, it died. If you ignored emotions-regarding-Newton-Geiszler, they only seemed to adapt his self-importance and blew themselves up, made themselves impossible to leave to die.) "Uh, come in," he adds, when Hermann remains silent and sort of half-staring at the ceiling.

It becomes clear that the only available space to sit on is the bed, what with Newt having carried as much paperwork, files, two small holographic projectors and what looks suspiciously like a bit of Kaiju in a glass, unsuccessfully covered by a black sheet, into his small room.

"On which side of the family are you related to hamsters?" Hermann asks, more to fill the silence than to actually mock his friend and Newton scratches the back of his head, letting his eyes roam over the mess.

"I didn't want anyone to start carrying away stuff that might be important at one point. I mean, that was of course before Pentecost told us that we- that I could stay here. I also took photos of your equations in case someone accidentally wiped down the blackboard and all the files were destroyed or something..." He trails off then, clearly embarrassed.

"You don't think I have the most important breakthrough of my career stored away safely in my mind?" Hermann asks mildly, but if the surge of embarrassment he feels suddenly is part of them _Ghost-Drifting_, then Newton must feel the surge of affection flooding through Hermann.

"Yeah, man, whatever... did you wanna sit down or are we going to do this standing up?" Newton then inquires and points towards the messy bed.

Hermann keeps his question of what 'doing this' exactly means to himself for the moment and instead asks: "Did I wake you up?" before slowly sitting down on the mattress, Newton flopping down more carelessly next to him.

"Nah, couldn't sleep. It's pretty busy up there," he replies, tapping his temple with one knuckle.

"I know the feeling," Hermann mutters and it's only then that their eyes meet for the first time since Newton opened the door.

"Yeah, I know." Newton pauses for a moment, before he continues: "I figured that's why you came here. And I just want you to know that... well, I know everything that's in your head and you don't really have to explain anything because I'm just going to say 'I know' because, that's like the total truth, I _actually_ know, I've been inside your head and what I'm trying to say that- that whatever you think of me, I absolutely respect that this is not something you're, uh, interested in. But I would really like to continue to work with you here, because we started this all together and I think we should wrap it up, and... yeah..." he finished lamely and Hermann's breath gets caught at the sight of the brave face Newton is trying to make, at the half-smirk he's producing- and at the completely helpless look in his eyes.

"Newton, as always I have no idea what it is you think you know-" Hermann starts, letting go of his cane and putting his hand on the sheet next to him. He touches an inch of blanket and it's still carrying a trace of Newton's warmth. But it might as well be a furnace, sending warmth through Hermann's hand, up his arm, through his body within seconds. It's frightening. "- but I assure you that whatever it is you think you know, it's most likely wrong."

There's a spark in Newton's clouded eyes, barely there, but like a ripple on the surface of Lake Como (and Hermann has never been to Lake Como, so that's Newton's memory, from the Drift) it gets bigger. "Now that- that is just so you. We've been Drifting and I've been inside your head and even though I'm thinking your thoughts, you still think my thinking is wrong?" After a moment, he adds triumphantly: "Ha, you basically just insulted yourself."

"Just because you have been inside my head doesn't mean you understand me," Hermann dismisses him, and feels maybe just a little bit safer than before. Bickering is safe – except that this is still the... the Drift topic about which he definitely needs to talk but just... he can't. He sees no possible scenario in which he can talk about all of this. Newton, in theory, knows. So there is no need to talk about it. But the urge had been so strong, it had been impossible to just stay in his room, alone with his thoughts of what he feels and what Newton feels and how broken they both are and how ridiculous everything is. It drove him out, out of his room and immediately towards the one person he always goes to when he's out of his depth.

"Yeah but that's the thing," Newt now mumbles, fiddling with the hem of his boxers, "I think... I think we should talk about this. Because I would really like to understand you but I know you hate this and, to be honest, I'm not very comfortable at the moment either, but it's also sort of driving me crazy."

"What can there possibly be left to talk about?" Hermann tries, part of him hoping Newton will just agree with him, part of him knowing that is not going to happen. Nevertheless, he tries. "We know everything about each other now and-"

"See, dude, that's where you wrong," Newton interrupts and Hermann glares at him for both interrupting and calling him 'dude'. _Again_. Newton remains unimpressed and simply ventures on: "You've been thinking a million thoughts since we Drifted and I know nothing about those and you look a bit like shit – so do I, though – and I would really like to know why."

Newton makes sense, which Hermann hates to admit to himself. Also, he _feared_ that Newton would make sense because that only highlights the fact that they definitely need to talk about this.

"I absolutely hate you," he mutters, not meeting Newton's face and then he almost jerks back because suddenly Newton is right in his personal space and presses a soft kiss against his lips. It's a bit off-centre, very innocent and sweet and Hermann simply can't get over the shock and do anything, remains frozen on the spot until Newton leans back again and gives him a look that's half-apologetic and half-satisfied.

Finally, Hermann remembers how to blink and how to breathe (which makes the whole staying alive thing easier) but before he can ask any stupid question that would most likely abruptly stop after an interrogative, his lab partner explains: "Sorry. I just- I figured that if we talked now and it would end badly, at least I'd have kissed you once. I mean, I thought about that for some time and... yeah, so, anyway, I always figured that if this happened it would happened after you told me something ridiculous and now you kind of did and I just... had to."

And as always when dealing with something Newton tells him, Hermann focuses on the weirdest parts of the conversation. He knows it's driving Newton crazy, but he can't help but wonder- "So the outcome you would describe as 'badly' is a scenario in which we don't- in which there will be no kisses?"

Predictably, Newton's shoulders sag and he gives him a disbelieving look. "Seriously? That's what you're focusing on? You know that I- _like you_ and obviously any scenario when I wouldn't get to be around your stupid face would be a bad one!" Basically, the look Newton gives him now is one that equals having to explain to Hermann that 1+1 is, indeed, 2.

"That is... not what I imagined to be a bad scenario," Hermann admits, trying to hide as much of his confusion as possible. He's not entirely successful, but thankfully, Newton crosses his arms and looks smug.

"See? That's why we definitely need to talk about this!"

Okay. Yes. He's probably right. Most likely right. That doesn't mean Hermann has to like it.

"Well... what did you think a bad scenario would be?"

_And here we can see a prime example of Dr. Geiszler asking the most uncomfortable questions at the worst time,_ Hermann thinks bitterly. He remains silent for a moment, his face tight in concentration (and he half counts on Newton growing impatient and letting the topic drop) but Newton unfortunately seems to have discovered inner peace and patience and just looks at him inquisitively until he finally gives in and takes a deep breath, looking anywhere but Newton.

"I believed that the bad scenario would be if we continued our association and allowed our... feelings-" Hermann says feelings the way other people would say 'Kaiju', "to connect us more profoundly, followed by the realisation that this clearly would not work out and thus ending our relationship for good."

For a short while, Newton seems to push around that sentence in his head, but because he's so used to Hermann making things more complicated than they have to be and also because he knows how Hermann feels, he realizes what the mathematician means pretty quickly.

"Wait, so you think we could be together and then I'd grow fed up with you and leave you? Or you me?" Now Newton looks disbelieving again. It's a recurring look this night, it seems. "Hermann, I've lived with you for years now! I know you're a jerk sometimes and you know I get carried away so why the hell would we leave each other suddenly?"

"It was the most logic 'bad scenario' at hand," Hermann defends himself, trying to ignore that Newton is right. Well, partly, at least. Of course they probably won't get fed up with each other over bickering but... there's still the fact of how much their personalities clash.

True, a big part of Hermann's brain plays the short kiss on repeat and he finds that he would definitely not mind doing that again, but at the same time, a kiss would entail so much more – more kissing, more of... other things. And then eventually a decision of what they are - what they are to each other, what they are to the world. And expressing these things... Hermann is so inept at it that he really doesn't like to go into that. He can't play football, so there's no sense in doing it. Same goes for a relationship.

(But, oh, he wants a lot of things. The kiss again, definitely. Waking up next to Newton had not been bad, either. And he doesn't want Newton flirting with other people.)

"You look like Jekyll and Hyde," Newton informs him, watching him with the same scientific interest he usually reserves for a particularly gross piece of dead alien. "Your face is doing the thing where it changes from annoyed to sort of fond every other minute."

"Am I supposed to be offended or flattered now?" Hermann deadpans and instantly regrets the question when Newton smirks and wriggles his eyebrows.

"Flattered, dude. Jekyll is the hot scientist and Hyde is the sexy jump-your-bones type. You're basically the best of both worlds."

Hermann glares (and tries not to think much about how the shorter man just described him as, well, sexy. Which is not an adjective Hermann has ever heard regarding himself, much less would've used in a conversation with or about anyone.) "You just compared me to a mad doctor and his mass-murdering dark side, which you proceeded to describe as 'sexy'."

"And I'll stand by that opinion. But we're getting carried away again from the part where we actually talk with each other about important things. Man, we're really shit at this." Newton frowns.

"Truer words have never been spoken," Hermann says darkly. But Newton is right, of course. They have to talk about this at some point, about what they saw in the Drift, about how they feel – and about their future. Newton wants to stay in the Shatterdome, that much is clear. But what will become of him, Hermann? Just because he would like to stick around – and can afford it, because they're both _rock stars_ now and any research facility would be glad to have either of them – doesn't mean that's a wise (or right) decision.

Following an impulse, he carefully reaches out for Newton's hands that are still fiddling with the hem of, at the moment, his t-shirt. Fortunately, Newton doesn't seem to be averse to that action and lightly threads his fingers through his lab partner's. It's the most contact Hermann has ever initiated (without one of them being in danger of being blown up or crushed by something) and while they both glance at their intertwined hands with wide eyes, Newton remains where he is and Hermann finds that this wasn't so hard after all. "How-" Hermann starts, at the same time that Newton says: "We-" and then Hermann says: "Go on," and so Newton does.

"We should- uh, we should try this, I think. Try... being together. You think you suck at relationships, but you know I've only had like two serious ones either, so I'm not really an expert. I mean, I could be – get a seventh doctorate maybe..." he trails of, winking and Hermann has to smile against his will.

"That would be showing off." He sobers up quickly, though. "You are... very dear to me. The thought of losing you upon seeing you on the floor after your daft idea of Drifting alone was just the last thing that made me realise that you are more than just a friend to me. But my- track record with relationships is even worse than yours. I managed to be married and only see Vanessa about twice a year, after all."

"You sound so old when you say 'dear'," Newton teases lightly (ignoring the part where Hermann says he's useless at relationships because _whatever_), but brushes his thumb over the back of Hermann's hand. A minor gesture, Newton is probably not even noticing he's doing it considering he's always in motion, but Hermann is oversensitive to his touch by now, feeling it thousandfold stronger than it is. "But I like it. It's very you. And you know, I think you already know that I make more sense because your points are really not that great. We're both weird, okay. I get that. But your marriage to Vanessa was not really honest, with the same feelings we've got, and you were busy saving the world! And... if we continue to work with each other, we'll still see each other every day. And even if you take a job somewhere else we could- we could make it work. If it's in Hong Kong, we could come home to each other every night."

"I did think about taking up a professorship in the Physics department of HKU," Hermann admits and then he allows the smile that he's wiped away before to bloom on his face. "If only to escape your mess for the day if I'm supposed to come home to it in the evening."

Newton's grin mirrors his for a moment, before it gets even more brilliant. "That's your stuffy, weird way of saying we're going to do this, right?"

"That is your rude, strange way of wooing me, right?" Hermann counters, quirking an eyebrow.

"I don't think people woo each other anymore, not since the Middle Ages at least," Newton easily replies, "but if you insist on using century-old words, fine. So, yeah: Hermann, do you wanna be my... uh, _Hermann_?"

And Hermann – who is apparently now Newton's Hermann – decides that maybe it's time he started acting on his feelings instead of just ignoring them. He might as well start acting on the urge to kiss Newton. So he does.

X

_I am in love with this grumpy man with his sweater vests and chalk dust all over his clothes and a stupid face,_ Newt thinks loudly. In fact, he's screaming it in his mind because it's the foremost thought there anyway.

And then, because it's the second foremost thought, he tickles Hermann in the belly just to see what his very own rock star is going to do. Turns out it's an impressive combination of snorting indignantly and punching Newt in the chest.

While Newt is still busy massaging at his abused chest – it's probably going to bruise under all the colour, what with Hermann being Mr. Bone Fist and therefore more lethal than he technically should be – said Mr. Bone Fist carefully puts away the sketchbook that's filled with notes Newt made on different Kaiju regarding their anatomy and, to a bigger extent, drawings in various sizes and comical states of said Kaiju. (Leatherback with a flower crown being one of the more serious drawings.)

He rubs his hands over Newt's chest in a brusque way – well, it would seem like that for anyone else, but Newt knows what a big softie Hermann really is so he grins and leans back, enjoying the repeating circles the mathematician rubs. Hermann still has something to say, though.

"Must you call my face stupid?"

(They have already discovered that while they know a great deal about each other's lives now, there are still many things they don't know about each other. The Drift seems to connect them deeply, but there are still many small things they can discover about each other. However, even without being connected through the Pons, they seem to be able to feel strong emotions of the other and given that Newt screamed that in his mind before, it's not a big surprise Hermann caught it.)

Newt grins brightly before brushing two fingertips over Hermann's cheek. "Absolutely. You have this amazing cheekbones but you always look so frowny except when you sleep, which is when you look adorable. So, yeah, I get to call your face stupid. But I also get to kiss it. And you get to kiss me." He pauses for a moment, waits, and then adds: "That was a hint. I want you to kiss me."

"Maybe I don't want to kiss you. You did insult my face."

"Ah-ah, you forget: _I know_ you want to kiss me. And you want to make sweet love to me because you're totally into me!" Newt announces triumphantly and Hermann looks like he is seriously considering to face-palm.

"I regret this already."

And then Newt kisses him again, mumbling: "See, I told you I'd kiss you when you said something ridiculous," and Hermann doesn't really regret this at all.

X

By now time is at that strange point where it's hard to tell if it's morning already or night still, and Hermann and Newton, unwilling to leave each other, are still awake and talking (although not about their feelings or the Drift anymore, but rather about other scientific fields that would profit from their latest findings regarding the Breach), propped up against the wall on Newton's bed.

"Can we maybe just talk about one more Drift thing?" Newton suddenly changes the topic. Despite his entire usual disregard to etiquette, he looks tender now and that's enough to put Hermann on alarm. He nods, though, of course.

"Uh, about... the baby. Vanessa's baby. It's yours, isn't it?"

At length, Hermann tries to sound as calm as possible when answering: "Yes. Biologically speaking, it is. We made some, ah, _arrangements_ before I left for Hong Kong. But I never- I was being honest with you when I said I admire Vanessa, but my feelings for her don't go deeper. Of course the divorce-plan to regain people's trust in the Jaeger Program is now redundant, but-"

"But it means you're free now," Newton finishes while his usual small grin finds its way back on his face. "Still, man, you're going to be a dad soon. Won't you miss your kid?"

"I am of course allowed to see my child, although it will not grow up in the knowledge that I'm its father. Vanessa and I agreed to clear up everything once it's old enough, though." Steeling himself, Hermann asks the more important question then: "Is that... going to be a problem?"

Newton simply grabs both of his hands tightly and rubs them a bit. "No, dude. I was just curious. I don't mind kids, or your kid- in fact, I'd like to get to know the little Hermunkulus if that's okay with you and Vanessa."

"I'm certain that can be arranged," Hermann agrees, feeling a great deal more relaxed than before and even bites back comments about – once again – being called 'dude' and the fact that his... lover (now that just sounds pornographic!) doesn't cease to refer to his offspring as 'Hermunkulus'.

"You're not going to pull a Tendo and shove baby pictures into everyone's faces, right?" Newton suddenly teases and Hermann habitually rolls his eyes before pressing a bruising kiss against the shorter scientist's lips. (On a second thought, positive reinforcement is probably a bad idea but then again this is so very good...)

"I mean, not that I don't like the little bugger, really – Benji is adorable, but Tendo is soo- _unf_"

Okay, the 'unf' is not part of his sentence anymore, but Hermann decides as long as Newton can talk around a kiss, he's not occupied enough and just like in a classroom, Hermann demands full attention devoted to him. Hence more kissing, hence Newton's 'unf'ing.

And then there's little time for any more unwanted conversation about Officer Choi, babies or Vanessa because they are completely wrapped up in each other, savouring every moment of finally being in the position to touch, to pour out through their bodies what is yet to be put into words, to become one not only in mind, but also physically.

In the midst of caresses and fierce kisses they fall into the Ghost-Drift again. They are not afraid.

X

It's early morning now, sleepiness finally settles in and they rest under the covers, limbs lazily draped over each other in a tangled mess. Newt's brain is still racing at its usual speed though, and currently it's set on: "Do you think we can become the adorable yet scary couple of the Shatterdome? Like the Kaidanovskys?"

Hermann obviously has trouble deciding whether he is going to dignify that with an answer or not, but finally replies: "For that, you're lacking at least 16'', and that's just in height."

Newt smacks him and pouts. "Height jokes? Really?"

"Ask and ye shall receive," Hermann simply dismisses him, and then adds: "Besides, Mr. Choi jokes about your height about twice a week."

"That's different," Newt mumbles indignantly. Mainly because Tendo is only like 1,5'' taller than him and also-

"Because you were infatuated with him?"

If that was any other time, Newt would probably find Hermann smirking adorable. Now it's just annoying. And who says 'infatuated' anyway?

"Dude, he has fabulous hair and I was only crushing on him for like a month or something. That's got nothing to do with that. And besides, it's a low blow, using your Drift knowledge against me – I don't mention anything about how you had the hots for P-"

Hermann silences him with a kiss, which is not the worst way to be silenced but Newt thinks that maybe he shouldn't let Hermann believe he'll get away with anything just because they're kissing. Although... this _is_ rather nice.

In fact, it's very nice until Newt realizes something and groans – and not in the good, sexy-times kind of way.

"What?" Hermann asks, obviously annoyed at both having to interrupt the kiss and being roused from comfortable, lazy haze.

"Tendo is going to be insufferable once he finds out about us," Newt grumbles unhappily. "And he'll never stop being smug until we promise to watch Benji for like a week while Tendo and Ali take a week of to have a we-saved-the-world-sex-marathon..."

Hermann seems more relaxed than Newt and simply starts rubbing his lover's neck until Newt relaxes back into the touch and the mattress. Then he mumbles: "First of all, you already love young Benjamin and would be happy to have him. Secondly, if his parents show any trace of intelligence, they don't let him alone with us for that long-" Newt huffs a bit at Hermann implying they are not fit to watch children for an extended period of time, although it could be worse since Hermann included himself, at least, "-and thirdly, it might just be that we don't have time soon, seeing as we might just be... busy ourselves."

Newt gets a lurking look on his face and turns until he can face Hermann, watching him from narrowed eyes with a grin blossoming on his face. "Are you talking about writing-reports busy, moving-in-together-busy or sex-vacation busy? Because I'd be very much up for the latter two. Especially the last one."

Hermann just raises an eyebrow and says evadingly: "You _did_ say that those whom you kissed would end up wanting to live Happily Ever After with you."

Newt's face splits into a grin. "Totally! Oh hey- does that mean I can call you Princess Hermann from now on? You may even call me Doctor Geiszler then – could be our version of a totally crazy role-play-"

Hermann slaps his butt (and that's not so bad, really, so Newt fails to see it as a punishment) and threatens: "If you call me that, I will make sure that this will be a Forever After, albeit not necessarily a happy one."

"Aw, such heartfelt words. So you do love me!" Newt quips.

"Of course I do, you idiot," Hermann simply replies, so matter-of-factly that Newt simply has to kiss him, certain that he won't ever stop. And it's totally going to be the Happiest Ever After anyone has ever had. Just with science, monster body parts and a lot of bickering. _Just_ the way it's supposed to be.


End file.
